Star−Disk Collisions: Implications for Quasi-periodic Eruptions and Other Transients near Supermassive Black Holes
We use Athena++ to study the hydrodynamics of repeated star−accretion disk collisions close to supermassive black holes, and we discuss their implications for the origin of quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) and other repeating nuclear transients. We quantify the impact of the collisions on the stellar...
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| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8911 |
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| author | Philippe Z. Yao Eliot Quataert Yan-Fei Jiang Wenbin Lu Christopher J. White |
| author_facet | Philippe Z. Yao Eliot Quataert Yan-Fei Jiang Wenbin Lu Christopher J. White |
| author_sort | Philippe Z. Yao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We use Athena++ to study the hydrodynamics of repeated star−accretion disk collisions close to supermassive black holes, and we discuss their implications for the origin of quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) and other repeating nuclear transients. We quantify the impact of the collisions on the stellar structure, the amount of stripped stellar debris, and the orbital properties of the debris. We provide simple fitting functions for the stellar mass loss per collision; the mass loss is much larger after repeated collisions, due to the dilute stellar atmosphere shock-heated in earlier collisions. The lifetime of the QPE-emitting phase set by stellar mass loss in star−disk collision models for QPEs is thus at most ∼1000 yr; it is shortest for eRO-QPE2, of order a few decades. The mass of the stripped stellar debris per collision and its orbital properties imply that currently observed QPEs are not powered by direct star−disk collisions but rather by collisions between the stellar debris liberated in previous collisions and the accretion disk (“circularization shocks”). We discuss how the hydrodynamics of this interaction can explain the diverse timing properties of QPEs, including the regular timing of GSN 069 and eRO-QPE2 and the large flare-to-flare timing variations observed in eRO-QPE1. QPEs with recurrence times of many days, if observed, may have more regular timing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-849e767a1f3e4a179d15e3e4d7bd6ab6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-849e767a1f3e4a179d15e3e4d7bd6ab62025-02-03T09:18:57ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-0197819110.3847/1538-4357/ad8911Star−Disk Collisions: Implications for Quasi-periodic Eruptions and Other Transients near Supermassive Black HolesPhilippe Z. Yao0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3024-7218Eliot Quataert1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9185-5044Yan-Fei Jiang2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2624-3399Wenbin Lu3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1568-7461Christopher J. White4Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USACenter for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USADepartment of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley , Berkeley, CA 94720, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USAWe use Athena++ to study the hydrodynamics of repeated star−accretion disk collisions close to supermassive black holes, and we discuss their implications for the origin of quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) and other repeating nuclear transients. We quantify the impact of the collisions on the stellar structure, the amount of stripped stellar debris, and the orbital properties of the debris. We provide simple fitting functions for the stellar mass loss per collision; the mass loss is much larger after repeated collisions, due to the dilute stellar atmosphere shock-heated in earlier collisions. The lifetime of the QPE-emitting phase set by stellar mass loss in star−disk collision models for QPEs is thus at most ∼1000 yr; it is shortest for eRO-QPE2, of order a few decades. The mass of the stripped stellar debris per collision and its orbital properties imply that currently observed QPEs are not powered by direct star−disk collisions but rather by collisions between the stellar debris liberated in previous collisions and the accretion disk (“circularization shocks”). We discuss how the hydrodynamics of this interaction can explain the diverse timing properties of QPEs, including the regular timing of GSN 069 and eRO-QPE2 and the large flare-to-flare timing variations observed in eRO-QPE1. QPEs with recurrence times of many days, if observed, may have more regular timing.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8911Stellar dynamicsSupermassive black holesTidal disruptionX-ray transient sources |
| spellingShingle | Philippe Z. Yao Eliot Quataert Yan-Fei Jiang Wenbin Lu Christopher J. White Star−Disk Collisions: Implications for Quasi-periodic Eruptions and Other Transients near Supermassive Black Holes The Astrophysical Journal Stellar dynamics Supermassive black holes Tidal disruption X-ray transient sources |
| title | Star−Disk Collisions: Implications for Quasi-periodic Eruptions and Other Transients near Supermassive Black Holes |
| title_full | Star−Disk Collisions: Implications for Quasi-periodic Eruptions and Other Transients near Supermassive Black Holes |
| title_fullStr | Star−Disk Collisions: Implications for Quasi-periodic Eruptions and Other Transients near Supermassive Black Holes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Star−Disk Collisions: Implications for Quasi-periodic Eruptions and Other Transients near Supermassive Black Holes |
| title_short | Star−Disk Collisions: Implications for Quasi-periodic Eruptions and Other Transients near Supermassive Black Holes |
| title_sort | star disk collisions implications for quasi periodic eruptions and other transients near supermassive black holes |
| topic | Stellar dynamics Supermassive black holes Tidal disruption X-ray transient sources |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8911 |
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