What fraction of tidal disruption events develop quasi-periodic eruptions?
In plain words
Quasi-periodic eruptions are X-ray bursts that repeat every few hours from some galaxy centers, and several have now appeared in galaxies that earlier had a tidal disruption flare. They might come from a star or small black hole crossing the disk left by the disruption.
Precise statement
QPEs have been detected years after optical TDEs (AT2019qiz, Nicholl et al., Nature, 2024; AT2019vcb) and their hosts resemble TDE hosts. Determine what fraction of TDEs develop QPEs and on what delay, and whether that fraction is consistent with an orbiting star or compact object crossing the newly formed TDE disk, which would make the QPE rate a measure of the population of close orbiters; the emission mechanism of a single eruption is a separate problem.
What would settle it
Systematic X-ray monitoring of a complete TDE sample for several years after disruption.
Status in the literature
Unverified note
QPEs were found after the most luminous eROSITA TDE (Baldini et al., A&A, 2026), and models of collisions with TDE disks are being tested.