Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Mar 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008head...10.1407i&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, HEAD meeting #10, #14.07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We have detected forbidden [OIII] 5007 Angstrom and [NII] 6583 Angstrom emission lines from a globular cluster in the elliptical galaxy NGC1399 in the Fornax cluster. This globular cluster is also known to harbor an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) with LX = 2e39 ergs/s, strongly indicating the presence of an accreting black hole in the globular cluster. We propose that the black hole has tidally disrupted a star, and that the observed optical emission lines result from the illumination of debris from the disrupted star by the X-ray emission from the black hole. The complete lack of H-alpha, H-beta and He emission argues that the disrupted star was a C/O white dwarf. Based on the emission line flux, we have estimated the minimum size of the emitting region to be 1015 cm. The emission lines have a FWHM of 220 km/s, implying that if this is a rotational velocity, a black hole mass of >2500; solar masses is required for material to orbit at this velocity at this distance.
Bregman Jesse
Brink T.
Irwin Jimmy
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