Gravitational waves from the collision of tidally disrupted stars with massive black holes
- Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (United States)
We use simulations of hydrodynamics coupled with full general relativity to investigate the gravitational waves produced by a star colliding with a massive black hole when the star's tidal disruption radius lies far outside of the black hole horizon. We consider both main-sequence and white-dwarf compaction stars, and nonspinning black holes, as well as those with near-extremal spin. We study the regime in between where the star can be accurately modeled by a point particle, and where tidal effects completely suppress the gravitational wave signal. We find that nonnegligible gravitational waves can be produced even when the star is strongly affected by tidal forces, as well as when it collides with large angular momentum. We discuss the implications that these results have for the potential observation of gravitational waves from these sources with future detectors.
- OSTI ID:
- 22370242
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 795, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Relativistic Tidal Disruption and Nuclear Ignition of White Dwarf Stars by Intermediate-mass Black Holes
PROBING INTERMEDIATE-MASS BLACK HOLES WITH OPTICAL EMISSION LINES FROM TIDALLY DISRUPTED WHITE DWARFS