Miles, P.R. orcid.org/0000-0003-1354-1984, Coughlin, E.R. orcid.org/0000-0003-3765-6401 and Nixon, C.J. orcid.org/0000-0002-2137-4146 (2020) Fallback Rates from Partial Tidal Disruption Events. The Astrophysical Journal, 899 (1). 36. ISSN 0004-637X
Abstract
A tidal disruption event (TDE) occurs when a star plunges through a supermassive black hole's tidal radius, at which point the star's self-gravity is overwhelmed by the tidal gravity of the black hole. In a partial TDE, where the star does not reach the full disruption radius, only a fraction of the star's mass is tidally stripped while the rest remains intact in the form of a surviving core. Analytical arguments have recently suggested that the temporal scaling of the fallback rate of debris to the black hole asymptotes to t−9/4 for partial disruptions, effectively independently of the mass of the intact core. We present hydrodynamical simulations that verify the existence of this predicted, t−9/4 scaling. We also define a break timescale—the time at which the fallback rate transitions from a t−5/3 scaling to the characteristic t−9/4 scaling—and measure this break timescale as a function of the impact parameter and the surviving core mass. These results deepen our understanding of the properties and breadth of possible fallback curves expected from TDEs and will therefore facilitate more accurate interpretation of data from wide-field surveys.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. This is an author produced version of an article published in Astrophysical Journal. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Astrophysics (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Nov 2023 14:17 |
Last Modified: | 03 Nov 2023 18:33 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Astronomical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.3847/1538-4357/ab9c9f |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:204846 |