Homeastro-ph.GAarXiv:2605.29616

An Obscured Tidal Disruption Event Uncovered by Its Mid- and Near-Infrared Dust Echo in a Star-Forming Galaxy

astro-ph.GAastro-ph.HE2026-05v1license

Abstract

We present a comprehensive study of an infrared (IR) flare in the star-forming galaxy SDSS J010320.39+140152.5, which is selected from the sample of mid-IR (MIR) outbursts in nearby galaxies (MIRONG). Its MIR luminosity rose rapidly to a peak of 5.4×1043\sim5.4\times10^{43} \lum, maintained in the high state for about a year, and decreased continuously afterward. No optical variability was detected throughout the IR flare. Near-IR follow-up observations around the peak pinpointed the flare's location to spatially coincide with the galactic nucleus, with a 3σ3\sigma upper limit of the offset of 100\lesssim100 pc. The IR spectral energy distribution (SED) of the flare is consistent with thermal emission of dust with temperatures of 900\sim900 K. Using a dust radiative transfer model, we inferred a peak UV luminosity of (410)×1044\sim(4-10)\times10^{44} erg s1^{-1} and a total energy of (0.92)×1052\sim(0.9-2)\times10^{52} ergs released. We ruled out the possibility of a supernova, and prefer that the IR flare originated from an obscured tidal disruption event (TDE) rather than a changing-look active galactic nucleus (AGN). This flare stands as one of the most compelling cases to date for the emerging class of dust-obscured TDEs in recent years. They are missed by optical surveys, partly accounting for the observed bias in TDE host galaxies, and represent a crucial, yet often overlooked, component for a complete understanding of the TDE population.

Comments: 15 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.29616,
  title  = {An Obscured Tidal Disruption Event Uncovered by Its Mid- and Near-Infrared Dust Echo in a Star-Forming Galaxy},
  author = {Hui Liu and Luming Sun and Ning Jiang and Xinwen Shu and Yibo Wang and Tinggui Wang and Roc M. Cutri and Liming Dou and Fabao Zhang and Jiazheng Zhu and Zhenfeng Sheng},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.29616},
  year   = {2026}
}