scholarly journals Thawing the frozen-in approximation: implications for self-gravity in deeply plunging tidal disruption events

2019 ◽  
Vol 485 (1) ◽  
pp. L146-L150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elad Steinberg ◽  
Eric R Coughlin ◽  
Nicholas C Stone ◽  
Brian D Metzger
Keyword(s):  
Free Fall ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
High Penetration ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Sphere Radius ◽  
Hydrodynamical Simulations ◽  
Self Gravity ◽  
Hydrostatic Balance ◽  
Mesh Technique

ABSTRACT The tidal destruction of a star by a massive black hole, known as a tidal disruption event (TDE), is commonly modelled using the ‘frozen-in’ approximation. Under this approximation, the star maintains exact hydrostatic balance prior to entering the tidal sphere (radius rt), after which point its internal pressure and self-gravity become instantaneously negligible and the debris undergoes ballistic free fall. We present a suite of hydrodynamical simulations of TDEs with high penetration factors β ≡ rt/rp = 5−7, where rp is the pericentre of the stellar centre of mass, calculated using a Voronoi-based moving-mesh technique. We show that basic assumptions of the frozen-in model, such as the neglect of self-gravity inside rt, are violated. Indeed, roughly equal fractions of the final energy spread accumulate exiting and entering the tidal sphere, though the frozen-in prediction is correct at the order-of-magnitude level. We also show that an $\mathcal {O}(1)$ fraction of the debris mass remains transversely confined by self-gravity even for large β which has implications for the radio emission from the unbound debris and, potentially, for the circularization efficiency of the bound streams.

scholarly journals The Process of Stellar Tidal Disruption by Supermassive Black Holes

2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Rossi ◽  
N. C. Stone ◽  
J. A. P. Law-Smith ◽  
M. Macleod ◽  
G. Lodato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Binary Star ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Accretion Flows ◽  
Simple Order ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
A Chain

AbstractTidal disruption events (TDEs) are among the brightest transients in the optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray sky. These flares are set into motion when a star is torn apart by the tidal field of a massive black hole, triggering a chain of events which is – so far – incompletely understood. However, the disruption process has been studied extensively for almost half a century, and unlike the later stages of a TDE, our understanding of the disruption itself is reasonably well converged. In this Chapter, we review both analytical and numerical models for stellar tidal disruption. Starting with relatively simple, order-of-magnitude physics, we review models of increasing sophistication, the semi-analytic “affine formalism,” hydrodynamic simulations of the disruption of polytropic stars, and the most recent hydrodynamic results concerning the disruption of realistic stellar models. Our review surveys the immediate aftermath of disruption in both typical and more unusual TDEs, exploring how the fate of the tidal debris changes if one considers non-main sequence stars, deeply penetrating tidal encounters, binary star systems, and sub-parabolic orbits. The stellar tidal disruption process provides the initial conditions needed to model the formation of accretion flows around quiescent massive black holes, and in some cases may also lead to directly observable emission, for example via shock breakout, gravitational waves or runaway nuclear fusion in deeply plunging TDEs.

scholarly journals What causes the fragmentation of debris streams in TDEs?

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (1) ◽  
pp. 1227-1238
Author(s):  
Andrea Sacchi ◽  
Giuseppe Lodato ◽  
Claudia Toci ◽  
Valentina Motta
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Tidal Forces ◽  
Gaseous Stream ◽  
Gravitational Stability ◽  
Hydrodynamical Simulations ◽  
Self Gravity ◽  
Disruption Event

ABSTRACT A tidal disruption event (TDE) occurs when a star passes too close to a supermassive black hole and gets torn apart by its gravitational tidal field. After the disruption, the stellar debris form an expanding gaseous stream. The morphology and evolution of this stream are particularly interesting as it ultimately determines the observational properties of the event itself. In this work, we perform 3D hydrodynamical simulations of the TDE of a star modelled as a polytropic sphere of index γ = 5/3 and study the gravitational stability of the resulting gas stream. We provide an analytical solution for the evolution of the stream in the bound, unbound, and marginally bound cases, which allows us to describe the stream properties and analyse the time-scales of the physical processes involved, applying a formalism developed in star formation context. Our results are that, when fragmentation occurs, it is fuelled by the failure of pressure in supporting the gas against its self-gravity. We also show that a stability criterion that includes also the stream gas pressure proves to be far more accurate than one that only considers the black hole tidal forces, giving analytical predictions of the time evolution of the various forces associated with the stream. Our results point out that fragmentation occurs on time-scales longer compared with the observational windows of these events and is thus not expected to give rise to significant observational features.

scholarly journals Is there enough star formation in simulated protoclusters?

2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (2) ◽  
pp. 1803-1822
Author(s):  
Seunghwan Lim ◽  
Douglas Scott ◽  
Arif Babul ◽  
David J Barnes ◽  
Scott T Kay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Numerical Resolution ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hydrodynamical Simulations ◽  
Formation Efficiency

ABSTRACT As progenitors of the most massive objects, protoclusters are key to tracing the evolution and star formation history of the Universe, and are responsible for ${\gtrsim }\, 20$ per cent of the cosmic star formation at $z\, {\gt }\, 2$. Using a combination of state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations and empirical models, we show that current galaxy formation models do not produce enough star formation in protoclusters to match observations. We find that the star formation rates (SFRs) predicted from the models are an order of magnitude lower than what is seen in observations, despite the relatively good agreement found for their mass-accretion histories, specifically that they lie on an evolutionary path to become Coma-like clusters at $z\, {\simeq }\, 0$. Using a well-studied protocluster core at $z\, {=}\, 4.3$ as a test case, we find that star formation efficiency of protocluster galaxies is higher than predicted by the models. We show that a large part of the discrepancy can be attributed to a dependence of SFR on the numerical resolution of the simulations, with a roughly factor of 3 drop in SFR when the spatial resolution decreases by a factor of 4. We also present predictions up to $z\, {\simeq }\, 7$. Compared to lower redshifts, we find that centrals (the most massive member galaxies) are more distinct from the other galaxies, while protocluster galaxies are less distinct from field galaxies. All these results suggest that, as a rare and extreme population at high z, protoclusters can help constrain galaxy formation models tuned to match the average population at $z\, {\simeq }\, 0$.

scholarly journals Optical Flares from the Tidal Disruption of Stars by Massive Black Holes

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S267) ◽  
pp. 337-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda E. Strubbe ◽  
Eliot Quataert
Keyword(s):  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Stellar Dynamics ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Massive Black Holes ◽  
Near Ir ◽  
Nuclear Regions

A star that wanders too close to a massive black hole (BH) is shredded by the BH's tidal gravity. Stellar gas falls back to the BH, releasing a flare of energy. In anticipation of upcoming transient surveys, we predict the light curves and spectra of tidal flares as a function of time, highlighting the unique signatures of tidal flares in the optical and near-IR. Some of the gas initially bound to the BH is likely blown away when the fallback rate is super-Eddington at early times. This outflow produces an optical luminosity comparable to that of a supernova (Figure 1, left panel); such events have durations of ~ 10 days and may have been missed in supernova searches that exclude the nuclear regions of galaxies. When the fallback rate subsides below Eddington, the gas accretes onto the BH via a thin disk whose emission peaks in the UV to soft X-rays. Some of this emission is reprocessed by the unbound stellar debris, producing a spectrum of very broad emission lines, with no corresponding narrow forbidden lines (center panel). These lines are strongest for BHs with MBH ~ 105–106M⊙ and thus optical surveys are particularly sensitive to the lowest mass BHs in galactic nuclei. Calibrating our models to ROSAT and GALEX observations, we predict detection rates for Pan-STARRS, Palomar Transit Factory, and LSST (right panel) and highlight observational challenges in the optical. Pan-STARRS should detect at least several events per year — many more if current theoretical models of super-Eddington outflows are correct. These surveys will significantly improve our knowledge of stellar dynamics in galactic nuclei, the physics of super-Eddington accretion, the demography of intermediate mass BHs, and the role of tidal disruption in the growth of massive BHs.

scholarly journals SEDIGISM: the kinematics of ATLASGAL filaments

2018 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
pp. A166 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mattern ◽  
J. Kauffmann ◽  
T. Csengeri ◽  
J. S. Urquhart ◽  
S. Leurini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unit Length ◽  
Dust Emission ◽  
Free Fall ◽  
Outer Radius ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Fall Velocity ◽  
Automated Algorithm ◽  
Power Law Exponent ◽  
Continuum Data ◽  
Self Gravity

Analyzing the kinematics of filamentary molecular clouds is a crucial step toward understanding their role in the star formation process. Therefore, we study the kinematics of 283 filament candidates in the inner Galaxy, that were previously identified in the ATLASGAL dust continuum data. The 13CO(2 – 1) and C18O(2 – 1) data of the SEDIGISM survey (Structure, Excitation, and Dynamics of the Inner Galactic Inter Stellar Medium) allows us to analyze the kinematics of these targets and to determine their physical properties at a resolution of 30′′ and 0.25 km s−1. To do so, we developed an automated algorithm to identify all velocity components along the line-of-sight correlated with the ATLASGAL dust emission, and derive size, mass, and kinematic properties for all velocity components. We find two-third of the filament candidates are coherent structures in position-position-velocity space. The remaining candidates appear to be the result of a superposition of two or three filamentary structures along the line-of-sight. At the resolution of the data, on average the filaments are in agreement with Plummer-like radial density profiles with a power-law exponent of p ≈ 1.5 ± 0.5, indicating that they are typically embedded in a molecular cloud and do not have a well-defined outer radius. Also, we find a correlation between the observed mass per unit length and the velocity dispersion of the filament of m ∝ σv2. We show that this relation can be explained by a virial balance between self-gravity and pressure. Another possible explanation could be radial collapse of the filament, where we can exclude infall motions close to the free-fall velocity.

scholarly journals Constraining the stellar mass function from the deficiency of tidal disruption flares in the nuclei of massive galaxies

2019 ◽  
Vol 485 (3) ◽  
pp. 4413-4422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J D’Orazio ◽  
Abraham Loeb ◽  
James Guillochon
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Black Hole Mass ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Massive Black Holes ◽  
Massive Galaxies ◽  
O 10

ABSTRACT The rate of tidal disruption flares (TDFs) per mass of the disrupting black hole encodes information on the present-day mass function (PDMF) of stars in the clusters surrounding super massive black holes. We explore how the shape of the TDF rate with black hole mass can constrain the PDMF, with only weak dependence on black hole spin. We show that existing data can marginally constrain the minimum and maximum masses of stars in the cluster, and the high-mass end of the PDMF slope, as well as the overall TDF rate. With $\mathcal {O}(100)$ TDFs expected to be identified with the Zwicky Transient Facility, the overall rate can be highly constrained, but still with only marginal constraints on the PDMF. However, if ${\lesssim } 10 {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the TDFs expected to be found by LSST over a decade ($\mathcal {O}(10^3)$ TDFs) are identified, then precise and accurate estimates can be made for the minimum stellar mass (within a factor of 2) and the average slope of the high-mass PDMF (to within $\mathcal {O}(10{{\ \rm per\ cent}})$) in nuclear star clusters. This technique could be adapted in the future to probe, in addition to the PDMF, the local black hole mass function and possibly the massive black hole binary population.

scholarly journals Global torques and stochasticity as the drivers of massive black hole pairing in the young Universe

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (3) ◽  
pp. 3601-3615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Bortolas ◽  
Pedro R Capelo ◽  
Tommaso Zana ◽  
Lucio Mayer ◽  
Matteo Bonetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Dynamical Evolution ◽  
Dynamical Friction ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Orbital Decay ◽  
Orbital Phase ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Statistical Sample

ABSTRACT The forthcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will probe the population of coalescing massive black hole (MBH) binaries up to the onset of structure formation. Here, we simulate the galactic-scale pairing of ∼106 M⊙ MBHs in a typical, non-clumpy main-sequence galaxy embedded in a cosmological environment at z = 7–6. In order to increase our statistical sample, we adopt a strategy that allows us to follow the evolution of six secondary MBHs concomitantly. We find that the magnitude of the dynamical-friction-induced torques is significantly smaller than that of the large-scale, stochastic gravitational torques arising from the perturbed and morphologically evolving galactic disc, suggesting that the standard dynamical friction treatment is inadequate for realistic galaxies at high redshift. The dynamical evolution of MBHs is very stochastic, and a variation in the initial orbital phase can lead to a drastically different time-scale for the inspiral. Most remarkably, the development of a galactic bar in the host system either significantly accelerates the inspiral by dragging a secondary MBH into the centre, or ultimately hinders the orbital decay by scattering the MBH in the galaxy outskirts. The latter occurs more rarely, suggesting that galactic bars overall promote MBH inspiral and binary coalescence. The orbital decay time can be an order of magnitude shorter than what would be predicted relying on dynamical friction alone. The stochasticity and the important role of global torques have crucial implications for the rates of MBH coalescences in the early Universe: both have to be accounted for when making predictions for the upcoming LISA observatory.

scholarly journals Heart of darkness: the influence of galactic dynamics on quenching star formation in galaxy spheroids

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jindra Gensior ◽  
J M Diederik Kruijssen ◽  
Benjamin W Keller
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Free Fall ◽  
Galactic Centre ◽  
Causal Connection ◽  
Isolated Galaxies ◽  
Stellar Halo ◽  
Hydrodynamical Simulations ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Quenched galaxies are often observed to contain a strong bulge component. The key question is whether this reflects a causal connection – can star formation be quenched dynamically by bulges or the spheroids of early-type galaxies? We systematically investigate the impact of these morphological components on star formation, by performing a suite of hydrodynamical simulations of isolated galaxies containing a spheroid. We vary the bulge mass and scale radius, while the total initial stellar, halo, and gas mass are kept constant, with a gas fraction of 5 per cent. In addition, we consider two different sub-grid star formation prescriptions. The first follows most simulations in the literature by assuming a constant star formation efficiency per free-fall time, whereas in the second model it depends on the gas virial parameter, following high-resolution simulations of turbulent fragmentation. Across all simulations, central spheroids increase the gas velocity dispersion towards the galactic centre. This increases the gravitational stability of the gas disc, suppresses fragmentation and star formation, and results in galaxies hosting extremely smooth and quiescent gas discs that fall below the galaxy main sequence. These effects amplify when using the more sophisticated, dynamics-dependent star formation model. Finally, we discover a pronounced relation between the central stellar surface density and star formation rate (SFR), such that the most bulge-dominated galaxies show the strongest deviation from the main sequence. We conclude that the SFR of galaxies is not only set by the balance between accretion and feedback, but carries a (sometimes dominant) dependence on the gravitational potential.

scholarly journals Discovery and follow-up of ASASSN-19dj: an X-ray and UV luminous TDE in an extreme post-starburst galaxy

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (2) ◽  
pp. 1673-1696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason T Hinkle ◽  
T W-S Holoien ◽  
K Auchettl ◽  
B J Shappee ◽  
J M M Neustadt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Emission ◽  
Starburst Galaxy ◽  
Late Time ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Bolometric Luminosity ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
High Cadence

ABSTRACT We present observations of ASASSN-19dj, a nearby tidal disruption event (TDE) discovered in the post-starburst galaxy KUG 0810+227 by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) at a distance of d ≃ 98 Mpc. We observed ASASSN-19dj from −21 to 392 d relative to peak ultraviolet (UV)/optical emission using high-cadence, multiwavelength spectroscopy and photometry. From the ASAS-SN g-band data, we determine that the TDE began to brighten on 2019 February 6.8 and for the first 16 d the rise was consistent with a flux ∝t2 power law. ASASSN-19dj peaked in the UV/optical on 2019 March 6.5 (MJD = 58548.5) at a bolometric luminosity of L = (6.2 ± 0.2) × 1044 erg s−1. Initially remaining roughly constant in X-rays and slowly fading in the UV/optical, the X-ray flux increased by over an order of magnitude ∼225 d after peak, resulting from the expansion of the X-ray emitting region. The late-time X-ray emission is well fitted by a blackbody with an effective radius of ∼1 × 1012 cm and a temperature of ∼6 × 105 K. The X-ray hardness ratio becomes softer after brightening and then returns to a harder state as the X-rays fade. Analysis of Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey images reveals a nuclear outburst roughly 14.5 yr earlier with a smooth decline and a luminosity of LV ≥ 1.4 × 1043 erg s−1, although the nature of the flare is unknown. ASASSN-19dj occurred in the most extreme post-starburst galaxy yet to host a TDE, with Lick HδA = 7.67 ± 0.17 Å.

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