Tidal Disruption of White Dwarfs from Ultra-close Encounters with Intermediate-mass Spinning Black Holes

Abstract

We present numerical relativity results of tidal disruptions of white dwarfs from ultra-close encounters with a spinning, intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). These encounters require a full general relativistic treatment of gravity. We show that the disruption process and prompt accretion of the debris strongly depend on the magnitude and orientation of the black hole (BH) spin. However, the late-time accretion onto the BH follows the same decay, Ṁ ∝ t^(-5/3), estimated from Newtonian gravity disruption studies. We compute the spectrum of the disk formed from the fallback material using a slim disk model. The disk spectrum peaks in the soft X-rays and sustains Eddington luminosity for 1-3 yr after the disruption. For arbitrary BH spin orientations, the disrupted material is scattered away from the orbital plane by relativistic frame dragging, which often leads to obscuration of the inner fallback disk by the outflowing debris. The disruption events also yield bursts of gravitational radiation with characteristic frequencies of ~3.2 Hz and strain amplitudes of ~10^(–18) for galactic IMBHs. The optimistic rate of considered ultra-close disruptions is consistent with no sources found in the ROSAT all-sky survey. Future missions like Wide-Field X-ray Telescope could observe dozens of events.

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