Exploring Tidal Disruption Events with SKA and VLBI: Unveiling the Mystery of Black Hole Feeding and Outflows
Xinwen Shu, Guobin Mou, Tao An, S. Komossa, Miguel Perez-Torres, Weihua Lei, Luming Sun, Ning Jiang, Tinggui Wang, Chichuan Jin, Jun Yang
astro-ph.HE
Submitted: 2026-06-25
Comments: Published in Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA II (AASKAII), 2026 (arXiv:2606.20366). Report-no:AASKAII/Shu01. Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA II (AASKAII) outlines the transformative scientific advances that will be enabled by the SKA telescopes
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
The gist: Tidal disruption events (TDEs) probe the birth and evolution of black hole accretion flows and jets on human timescales.
Terminology
Abstract
Tidal disruption events (TDEs) probe the birth and evolution of black hole accretion flows and jets on human timescales. Radio emission traces shocks and outflows from thermal TDEs and powerful relativistic jets in the rare jetted class. SKA Mid, phased for VLBI and used together with global networks, will deliver milliarcsecond imaging, tens of microarcsecond astrometry, and microJy sensitivity, enabling: (i) proper motion measurements that discriminate off axis relativistic jets from subrelativistic winds; (ii) resolved morphologies and magnetic field diagnostics via polarimetry; and (iii) precise nuclear localization to distinguish SMBH vs. IMBH and to reveal recoiling or binary systems. SKA's wide frequency coverage (0.35 to 15.4 GHz) and 1h continuum sensitivities of 3 to 10 microJy per beam, together with multibeam tiedarray VLBI and a transient buffer for rapid triggers, are transformational. LSST, Einstein Probe, and SVOM will increase TDE alerts to hundreds per year, and late time radio flares appear common, ensuring rich SKA VLBI samples. We provide observing strategies, detection forecasts, and predictions, e.g., about 5 proper motion detections of jetted (or off axis) TDEs per year and routine core shift constraints at the microarcsecond level. This program will establish TDEs as laboratories for exploring jet launching, particle acceleration (including neutrinos), black hole accretion history and demographics, and properties of circumnuclear medium.
Sources
- An Intermediate-mass Black Hole Lurking in A Galactic Halo Caught Alive during Outburst
- Numerical Studies on the Radio Afterglows in TDE: Forward Shock
- Numerical Studies on the Radio Afterglows in TDE: Bow Shock
- The Deep and Transient Universe in the SVOM Era: New Challenges and Opportunities - Scientific prospects of the SVOM mission
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