X-Ray Afterglow of Swift J1644+57: A Compton Echo?

Abstract

Swift, Chandra, and XMM have found a weak but nearly constant X-ray component from Swift J1644+57 that appeared at ∼500 days and was visible at least until ∼1400 days after the stellar capture, which cannot be explained by standard tidal disruption theories. We suggest that this X-ray afterglow component may result from the Thomson scattering between the primary X-rays and its surrounding plasma, I.e., a Compton echo effect. Similar phenomena have also been observed from molecular clouds in our Galactic Center, which were caused by the past activity of Srg A*. If this interpretation of Swift J1644+57 afterglow is correct, this is the first Compton Echo effect observed in the cosmological distances.