Black Hole Tears White Dwarf, Hinting at Hidden Intermediate-Mass BHs
Astronomers using China’s Einstein Probe spotted an extreme X-ray outburst (EP250702a) in a distant galaxy that models as an intermediate-mass black hole tearing apart a white dwarf, a finding supported by HKU simulations and follow-up observations. The event’s unusual timing and rapid evolution provide what researchers call the first direct evidence of this feeding process and could help uncover the long-m missing population of intermediate-mass black holes, with implications for multi-messenger astronomy.