Recent claimed detections of tidal disruption events (TDEs) in multi-wavelength data have opened potential new windows into the evolution and properties of otherwise dormant supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the centres of galaxies. At present, there are several dozen TDE candidates, which share some properties and differ in others. The range in properties is broad enough to overlap other transient types, such as active galactic nuclei (AGN) and supernovae (SNe), which can make TDE classification ambiguous. A further complication is that “TDE signatures” have not been uniformly observed to similar sensitivities or even targeted across all candidates. This chapter both reviews those events that are unusual relative to other TDEs, including the possibility of TDEs in pre-existing AGN, and summarises those characteristics thought to best distinguish TDEs from continuously accreting AGN, strongly flaring AGN, SNe, and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), as well as other potential impostors like stellar collisions, “micro-TDEs,” and circumbinary accretion flows. We conclude that multiple observables should be used to classify any one event as a TDE. We also consider the TDE candidate population as a whole, which, for certain host galaxy or SMBH characteristics, is distinguishable statistically from non-TDEs, suggesting that at least some TDE candidates do in fact arise from SMBH-disrupted stars.

最近声称的对多波长数据中的潮汐破坏事件（TDE）的检测，为星系中心原本处于休眠状态的超大质量黑洞（SMBH）的演化和性质打开了潜在的新窗口。当前，有数十种TDE候选者，它们共享某些属性，而其他属性却有所不同。属性的范围足够广泛，可以与其他瞬态类型重叠，例如活跃的银河核（AGN）和超新星（SNe），这会使TDE的分类变得模棱两可。进一步的复杂性是，尚未对相似的敏感性甚至没有针对所有候选人针对“ TDE签名”进行统一观察。本章都回顾了相对于其他TDE不寻常的那些事件，包括TDE在预先存在的AGN中的可能性，并总结了那些特征，这些特征被认为可以最好地区分TDE与连续增加的AGN，爆发力强的AGN，SNe和伽马射线爆裂（GRB）以及其他潜在的冒充者，例如恒星碰撞，“微型TDE”和环流积聚流。我们得出结论，应该使用多个可观察值将任何一个事件分类为TDE。我们还考虑了整个TDE候选种群，就某些宿主星系或SMBH特征而言，它们在统计学上可与非TDE区别开，这表明实际上至少有一些TDE候选确实来自SMBH破裂的恒星。我们得出结论，应该使用多个可观察值将任何一个事件分类为TDE。我们还考虑了整个TDE候选种群，就某些宿主星系或SMBH特征而言，它们在统计学上可与非TDE区别开，这表明实际上至少有一些TDE候选确实来自SMBH破裂的恒星。我们得出结论，应该使用多个可观察值将任何一个事件分类为TDE。我们还考虑了整个TDE候选种群，就某些宿主星系或SMBH特征而言，它们在统计学上可与非TDE区别开，这表明实际上至少有一些TDE候选确实来自SMBH破裂的恒星。