Tidal radii of main sequence stars — I. Physical tidal radius, semi-analytic model and their implications. (arXiv:1907.08205v1 [astro-ph.GA])

Tidal radii of main sequence stars — I. Physical tidal radius, semi-analytic model and their implications. (arXiv:1907.08205v1 [astro-ph.GA])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ryu_T/0/1/0/all/0/1">Taeho Ryu</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Krolik_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Julian Krolik</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Piran_T/0/1/0/all/0/1">Tsvi Piran</a>

A star is tidally disrupted by a supermassive black hole when their
separation is shorter than the “tidal radius”. This quantity is often estimated
on an order-of-magnitude basis without reference to the star’s internal
structure. Using MESA models for main sequence stars and fully general
relativistic dynamics, we find the physical tidal radius for complete
disruption $cal{R}_t$ for a $10^6M_odot$ black hole (BH). We find that across
a factor $sim20$ in stellar mass $M_*$, i.e., $0.15M_{odot}leq
M_*leq3M_odot$, $cal{R}_tsim27times$(BH’s gravitational radius). When
comparing $cal{R}_t$ with the commonly used order-of-magnitude estimate $r_t$,
we find that $cal{R}_tsim1.05-1.45r_t$ for $0.15M_odotleq
M_*leq0.5M_odot$, but between $0.5 M_odot$ and $1 M_odot$, $cal{R}_t$
drops to $sim 0.45r_t$, and it remains at this value up to $10 M_odot$. The
near-constancy of $cal{R}_t$ implies a weaker dependence of the full
disruption rate on $M_*$ than when predicted with $r_t$. The characteristic
energy width of the debris $Delta E$ ranges from $sim1.2Deltacal{E}$ for
low-mass stars to $sim 0.35Deltacal{E}$ for higher-mass stars, where
$Deltacal{E}=GM_{rm BH}R_*/cal{R}_t^{2}$. We present analytic fits for the
$M_*$ dependence of $cal{R}_t$ and $Delta E$; these fits lead to analytic
expressions for the time of peak mass fallback rate and the maximal mass
fallback rate. Our results also bear on the fraction of events leading to fast
or slow circularization, as well as on the character of the tidal event
occurring when the remnant of a partial disruption returns to the black hole.
Using a semi-analytic model, we show that $cal{R}_t$ is primarily determined
by the star’s central density rather than its mean density. For high-mass
stars, the full disruption rate is roughly 1/4 the partial disruption rate,
while this ratio is close to unity for low-mass stars.

A star is tidally disrupted by a supermassive black hole when their
separation is shorter than the “tidal radius”. This quantity is often estimated
on an order-of-magnitude basis without reference to the star’s internal
structure. Using MESA models for main sequence stars and fully general
relativistic dynamics, we find the physical tidal radius for complete
disruption $cal{R}_t$ for a $10^6M_odot$ black hole (BH). We find that across
a factor $sim20$ in stellar mass $M_*$, i.e., $0.15M_{odot}leq
M_*leq3M_odot$, $cal{R}_tsim27times$(BH’s gravitational radius). When
comparing $cal{R}_t$ with the commonly used order-of-magnitude estimate $r_t$,
we find that $cal{R}_tsim1.05-1.45r_t$ for $0.15M_odotleq
M_*leq0.5M_odot$, but between $0.5 M_odot$ and $1 M_odot$, $cal{R}_t$
drops to $sim 0.45r_t$, and it remains at this value up to $10 M_odot$. The
near-constancy of $cal{R}_t$ implies a weaker dependence of the full
disruption rate on $M_*$ than when predicted with $r_t$. The characteristic
energy width of the debris $Delta E$ ranges from $sim1.2Deltacal{E}$ for
low-mass stars to $sim 0.35Deltacal{E}$ for higher-mass stars, where
$Deltacal{E}=GM_{rm BH}R_*/cal{R}_t^{2}$. We present analytic fits for the
$M_*$ dependence of $cal{R}_t$ and $Delta E$; these fits lead to analytic
expressions for the time of peak mass fallback rate and the maximal mass
fallback rate. Our results also bear on the fraction of events leading to fast
or slow circularization, as well as on the character of the tidal event
occurring when the remnant of a partial disruption returns to the black hole.
Using a semi-analytic model, we show that $cal{R}_t$ is primarily determined
by the star’s central density rather than its mean density. For high-mass
stars, the full disruption rate is roughly 1/4 the partial disruption rate,
while this ratio is close to unity for low-mass stars.

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