Binary Mergers in the Centers of Galaxies: Synergy between Stellar Flybys and Tidal Fields

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorWinter-Granic, Mila
dc.contributor.authorPetrovich, Cristobal
dc.contributor.authorPena-Donaire, Valentin
dc.contributor.authorHamilton, Chris
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-20T16:08:29Z
dc.date.available2025-01-20T16:08:29Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractGalactic centers (GCs) are very dynamically active environments, often harboring a nuclear star cluster and supermassive black hole at their cores. Binaries in these environments are subject to strong tidal fields that can efficiently torque its orbit, exciting near-unity eccentricities that ultimately lead to their merger. In turn, frequent close interactions with passing stars impulsively perturb the orbit of the binary, generally softening their orbit until their evaporation, potentially hindering the role of tides to drive these mergers. In this work, we study the evolution of compact object binaries in the GC and their merger rates, focusing for the first time on the combined effect of the cluster's tidal field and flyby interactions. We find a significant synergy between both processes, where merger rates increase by a factor of similar to 10-30 compared to models in which only flybys or tides are taken into account. This synergy is a consequence of the persistent tides-driven eccentricity excitation that is enhanced by the gradual diffusion of j z driven by flybys. The merger efficiency peaks when the diffusion rate is similar to 10-100 slower than the tides-driven torquing. Added to this synergy, we also find that the gradual softening of the binary can lift the relativistic quenching of initially tight binaries, otherwise unable to reach extreme eccentricities, and thus expanding the available phase space for mergers. Cumulatively, we conclude that despite the gradual softening of binaries due to flybys, these greatly enhance their merger rates in GCs by promoting the tidal-field-driven eccentricity excitation.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.3847/1538-4357/ad61e1
dc.identifier.eissn1538-4357
dc.identifier.issn0004-637X
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad61e1
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/90082
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:001314691600001
dc.issue.numero1
dc.language.isoen
dc.revistaAstrophysical journal
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subject.ods13 Climate Action
dc.subject.odspa13 Acción por el clima
dc.titleBinary Mergers in the Centers of Galaxies: Synergy between Stellar Flybys and Tidal Fields
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen973
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
Files
Collections
Artículos de revistas