The disk accretion of a tidally disrupted star onto a massive black hole

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Astrophysical Journal; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/168442· OSTI ID:6966290

Cannizzo, J K; Lee, H M; Goodman, J ^[1]

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1. McMaster Univ., Hamilton (Canada) Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Toronto (Canada) Princeton Univ. Observatory, NJ (USA)

The consequences of the tidal disruption of a star by a massive black hole are considered. The initial extremely eccentric orbit of the stellar debris will become a circular orbit near the tidal radius after experiencing strong shocks which thermalize the orbital energy on a relatively short time scale. The subsequent evolution of the accretion disk is studied using a time-dependent alpha-disk model. It is suggested that some fraction of galaxies (particularly dwarf ellipticals) should be extremely bright at far-UV wavelengths if they contain black holes of 1 to 100 million solar masses. On the other hand, these results may argue against the presence of massive black holes in nearby galaxies such as M32. 41 refs.

• OSTI ID: 6966290
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal; (USA), Vol. 351; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BLACK HOLES
ACCRETION DISKS
GRAVITATIONAL INTERACTIONS
GALAXIES
FAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
GALAXY NUCLEI
MASS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
ORBITS
STAR ACCRETION
STAR EVOLUTION
STAR MODELS
STARS
TIDE
TIME DEPENDENCE
BASIC INTERACTIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
INTERACTIONS
RADIATIONS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
640102* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
640105 - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Galaxies