Results of the summarizing process for the arXiv paper: 1803.10107v1

The study of tidal disruption events (TDEs) provides a useful probe of the presence of single super massive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic nuclei. TDEs occur when stars pass too close to an SMBH and are torn apart by its gravitational forces, producing a strong electromagnetic flare. While a few TDE candidates have been observed, the majority remain dark. In this paper, Giacomo Fragione and Nathan Leigh use high-precision direct N-body simulations to investigate how stars orbiting an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) secondary are perturbed by an SMBH primary. They find that the evolution of stellar orbits is severely affected by the primary SMBH due to secular effects, resulting in depleted regions of parameter space corresponding to large stellar orbital inclinations with respect to the SMBH-IMBH orbital plane. Stars orbiting with high inclinations end their lives as TDEs due to Kozai-Lidov oscillations, illuminating the secondary SMBH/IMBH. The researchers show that above a critical SMBH mass of approximately 1.15 x 10^8 solar masses, no TDE event can occur for typical stars in an old stellar population since the Schwarzschild radius exceeds the tidal disruption radius. Consequently, any TDEs due to such massive SMBHs will remain dark. This means that no TDEs should be observed in galaxies more massive than approximately 4.15 x 10^10 solar masses unless a lower-mass secondary SMBH or IMBH is also present. The secular mechanism for producing TDEs considered here therefore offers a useful probe of SMBH-SMBH/IMBH binarity in the most massive galaxies. The researchers further show that the rate of TDE occurrence can be as high as approximately 10^-2 - 10^-1 per year and that most TDEs occur on a timescale of approximately 0.5 million years. Additionally, stars may be ejected with velocities up to thousands of kilometers per second, which could contribute to the observed population of Galactic hypervelocity stars.

• Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are useful for detecting single super massive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic nuclei
• TDEs occur when stars get too close to an SMBH and are torn apart, producing a strong electromagnetic flare
• High-precision direct N-body simulations were used to investigate how stars orbiting an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) secondary are perturbed by an SMBH primary
• Stellar orbits are severely affected by the primary SMBH due to secular effects, resulting in depleted regions of parameter space corresponding to large stellar orbital inclinations with respect to the SMBH-IMBH orbital plane
• Above a critical SMBH mass of approximately 1.15 x 10^8 solar masses, no TDE event can occur for typical stars in an old stellar population since the Schwarzschild radius exceeds the tidal disruption radius, meaning any TDEs due to such massive SMBHs will remain dark
• The rate of TDE occurrence can be as high as approximately 10^-2 - 10^-1 per year and most TDEs occur on a timescale of approximately 0.5 million years
• Stars may be ejected with velocities up to thousands of kilometers per second, which could contribute to the observed population of Galactic hypervelocity stars

Exploring Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs): How Stars Orbiting an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole (IMBH) Secondary are Perturbed by a Supermassive Black Hole Primary

Tidal disruption events, or TDEs, occur when stars pass too close to a supermassive black hole and are torn apart by its gravitational forces. This produces a strong electromagnetic flare that can be observed from Earth. While some of these events have been detected in the past, many remain dark due to their distance from us. In this research paper, Giacomo Fragione and Nathan Leigh use high-precision direct N-body simulations to investigate how stars orbiting an intermediate-mass black hole secondary are perturbed by a supermassive black hole primary.

Secular Effects on Stellar Orbits

The researchers found that the evolution of stellar orbits is severely affected by the primary SMBH due to secular effects. These effects result in depleted regions of parameter space corresponding to large stellar orbital inclinations with respect to the SMBH-IMBH orbital plane. Stars orbiting with high inclinations end their lives as TDEs due to Kozai-Lidov oscillations, illuminating the secondary SMBH/IMBH. The researchers also showed that above a critical mass of approximately 1.15 x 10^8 solar masses for the primary SMBH, no TDE event can occur for typical stars in an old stellar population since its Schwarzschild radius exceeds the tidal disruption radius; thus any such massive SMBHs will remain dark and no TDEs should be observed unless there is also a lower-mass secondary present in the galaxy's nucleus.

Rate of Occurrence & Ejection Velocities

The rate of occurrence for these events was estimated at between 10^−2 - 10^−1 per year and most occurring within 0.5 million years after initial perturbation by the primary SMBH's gravity field. Additionally, it was found that stars may be ejected with velocities up to thousands of kilometers per second which could contribute significantly towards Galactic hypervelocity star populations currently being studied across our universe today!

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study offers useful insight into how tidal disruption events can provide information about binary systems containing supermassive black holes or intermediate mass black holes in galactic nuclei as well as offer clues about hypervelocity star populations throughout our universe today!