Explain the physical origin of QPE flare timescales

Determine the physical origin of the rise and duration timescales observed in quasi-periodic eruptions.

Background

The paper discusses possible analogies between QPE timescales and characteristic timescales in other supermassive-black-hole transients, including outburst cooling times in OJ 287 and rise times in tidal disruption events. However, the relevant emission processes can depend on radiative transfer, viewing geometry, and the circumnuclear environment.

The authors do not establish which physical process sets the rise and duration of QPE flares, leaving the origin of these characteristic timescales unresolved.

References

The physical origin of the rise and duration timescales in QPEs remains poorly understood.

— A Unified Timescale Relation for Quasi-Periodic Eruptions and Repeated Nuclear Transients  (2609.08737 - Huang et al., 8 Sep 2026) in Section 4.2, “A possible connection between QPEs and RNTs”