Abstract for Proposal 094254

Probing the Diverse X-ray Evolution of Tidal Disruption Events in ZTF-O4

Classical tidal disruption event (TDE) models predict rapid accretion disk formation, resulting in prompt X-ray emission. However, the systematic discovery of TDEs in optical time-domain surveys has resulted in a paradigm shift, revealing an unexpected diversity of X-ray behaviors. We propose a systematic and uniform XMM-Newton follow-up program for all TDEs within a limited volume (z < 0.1) discovered in ZTF-O4 to address these intriguing findings. Our objectives include probing the full range of X-ray behaviors of optically discovered TDEs, constraint the lower-end shape of the X-ray luminosity function, and determining the fraction of TDEs with suppressed X-ray emission and late-time rebrightening -- all at an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity as compared to previous strategies.

Details on Observing Strategy and Trigger Criteria
We ask for two visits of 18ks for every TDE discovery within z < 0.1 during the 04 phase of ZTF. One visit as soon as the TDE classification is confirmed and another between 200-300 days after optical peak.