Origin of the Missing Optical Counterpart to ASKAP J095711.5+051205

Determine whether the lack of an optical counterpart to the proposed tidal disruption event ASKAP J095711.5+051205 results from intrinsically faint optical emission or from the event not being observed at the time it occurred.

Background

ASKAP J095711.5+051205 is a highly variable radio source spatially coincident with the nucleus of the poststarburst galaxy Z 36-7. Its two-year radio rise, subsequent decline, early radio non-detections, spectral evolution, and peak luminosity are interpreted as evidence favoring a tidal disruption event rather than stochastic active-galactic-nucleus variability. However, the event time is uncertain and no optical counterpart is known. Consequently, the available observations do not resolve whether the missing optical signal reflects intrinsically faint emission or a lack of optical coverage when the event occurred.

References

Given the uncertain event time, under this interpretation it is not possible to determine whether the lack of optical counterpart arises from intrinsically faint emission or was simply not at observed at the time of the event.

— ASKAP Monitoring of the Rubin Deep Drilling Fields  (2610.13011 - Dobie et al., 9 Oct 2026) in Section 5.3.1, subsection “ASKAP J095711.5+051205”