  Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are transient flares produced when a star is
ripped apart by the gravitational field of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). We
have observed a transient source in the western nucleus of the merging galaxy
pair Arp 299 that radiated >1.5x10^52 erg in the infrared and radio, but was
not luminous at optical or X-ray wavelengths. We interpret this as a TDE with
much of its emission re-radiated at infrared wavelengths by dust. Efficient
reprocessing by dense gas and dust may explain the difference between
theoretical predictions and observed luminosities of TDEs. The radio
observations resolve an expanding and decelerating jet, probing the jet
formation and evolution around a SMBH.
