Tidal disruption event

Pulling apart of a star by tidal forces when it gets too close to a supermassive black hole

Simulation of a star being disrupted by a supermassive black hole during a tidal disruption event.[1]

A tidal disruption event (TDE) is a transient astronomical source produced when a star passes so close to a supermassive black hole (SMBH) that it is pulled apart by the black hole's tidal force.[2][3] The star undergoes spaghettification, producing a tidal stream of material that loops around the black hole. Some portion of the stellar material is captured into orbit, forming an accretion disk around the black hole, which emits electromagnetic radiation. In a small fraction of TDEs, a relativistic jet is also produced. As the material in the disk is gradually consumed by the black hole, the TDE fades over several months or years.

TDEs were predicted in the 1970s and first observed in the 1990s. Over a hundred have since been observed, with detections at optical, infrared, radio and X-ray wavelengths. Sometimes a star can survive the encounter with an SMBH, leaving a remnant; those events are termed partial TDEs.[4][5]

## History

[edit]

TDEs were first theorized by Jack G. Hills in 1975.[6] A consequence of a star getting sufficiently close to a SMBH that the tidal forces between the star will overcome the star's self-gravity. In 1988 Martin Rees described how approximately half of the disrupted stellar material will remain bound, eventually accreting onto the black hole and forming a luminous accretion disk.[7]

According to early[when?] studies, tidal disruption events are an inevitable consequence of massive black holes' activity hidden in galaxy nuclei. Later theorists concluded that the resulting explosion or flare of radiation from the accretion of the stellar debris could reveal the presence of a dormant black hole in the center of a normal galaxy.[8]

TDEs were first observed in the early 1990s using the X-ray ROSAT All-Sky Survey.[9]

## Observations

[edit]

As of May 2024[update], roughly 100 TDEs are known,[10][11][12] and have been discovered through several astronomical methods. such as optical transient surveys including Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF)[12] and the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN).[13] Other TDEs have been discovered in X-rays, using the ROSAT, XMM-Newton, and eROSITA.[14] TDEs have also been discovered in the ultraviolet.[15]

### Optical light curves

[edit]

The light curves of TDEs have an initially sharp rise in brightness, as the disrupted stellar material falls towards the black hole, followed by a more gradual decline lasting months or years. During the declining phase, the luminosity is proportional to  t − 5 / 3 {\displaystyle t^{-5/3}} , where t is time,[16] although some TDEs have been observed to deviate from the typical  t − 5 / 3 {\displaystyle t^{-5/3}} rate.[17] These properties allow TDEs to be distinguished from other transient astronomical sources, such as supernovae. The peak luminosity of TDEs is proportional to the central black hole mass; it can approach or exceed that of their host galaxies, making them some of the brightest sources observed in the Universe.[18]

### Physical properties and energetics

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There are two broad classes of TDEs. The majority of TDEs consist of "non-relativistic" events, where the outflows from the TDE are akin to the energetics seen in Type Ib and Ic supernovae.[19]

Approximately 1% of TDEs, however, are relativistic TDEs, where an astrophysical jet is launched from the black hole shortly after the star is destroyed. This jet persists for several years before shutting off.[20] As of 2023[update] only four TDEs with jets have been observed.[21]

## Tidal-disruption radius

[edit]

See also: Sphere of influence (black hole)

A star gets tidally disrupted when the tidal force exerted by a black hole  f t i d a l ≈ G M B H R ∗ R 3 {\displaystyle f_{tidal}\approx {\frac {GM_{BH}R^{*}}{R^{3}}}} exceeds the self-gravity at the surface of the star  f s g ≈ G M ∗ R ∗ 2 {\displaystyle f_{sg}\approx {\frac {GM^{*}}{R^{*2}}}} . The distance below which  f t i d a l > f s g {\displaystyle f_{tidal}>f_{sg}} is called the tidal radius and is given approximately by:[22][23]

R T ≈ R ∗ ( M B H M ∗ ) 1 3 {\displaystyle R_{T}\approx R^{*}\left({\frac {M_{BH}}{M^{*}}}\right)^{\frac {1}{3}}}

This is identical to the Roche limit for disruptions of planetary bodies.

Usually, the tidal-disruption radius of a black hole is bigger than its Schwarzschild radius,  R S = 2 G M c 2 {\displaystyle R_{S}={\frac {2GM}{c^{2}}}} , but considering the radius and mass of the star fixed there is a mass for the black hole where both radii become equal meaning that at this point the star would simply disappear before being torn apart.[24][7]

## Notable tidal disruption events

[edit]

This section may contain unverified or indiscriminate information in embedded lists. Please help clean up the lists by removing items or incorporating them into the text of the article. (May 2024)

|

Hubble Space Telescope optical image of the TDE Swift J1644+57

* Swift J1644+57[25] A relativistic jet that was launched during the disruption of a star 3.8 billion light years away. The jet lasted 1.5 years, at which point it shut off.[26]
* ASASSN-14li[27][28] The first radio detection of a non-relativistic outflow from a TDE, in 2014.
* AT2018hyz[29] A TDE that was radio quiet until approximately 750 days after the initial TDE event, and has been rising rapidly in radio frequencies since. This has been interpreted as a delayed radio outflow, or an off-axis jet.[30]
* ASASSN-19bt was discovered by the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) project, with early-time, detailed observations by the TESS satellite.[13][31]
* AT2019qiz[32]
* AT2022cmc[33] is a jetted TDE discovered in 2022 by ZTF.
* AT 2022dbl is hypothesized to be a repetitive TDE, where a star has passed at least twice near a supermassive black hole and survived the first encounter, implying that perhaps at least some “standard” optical TDEs are in fact partial disruptions.[34]
* ASASSN-20hx, located near the nucleus of galaxy NGC 6297, was discovered in July 2020 and noted that the observation represented one of the "very few tidal disruption events with hard powerlaw X-ray spectra".[35][36]
* AT2024tvd - the first TDE that doesn't seem to be located at the center of a galaxy, but rather 2600 light years from a larger supermassive blackhole at the center of the host galaxy.[37]

## See also

[edit]

* Astronomy portal
* Physics portal

* Gamma-ray burst#Tidal disruption events
* Super soft X-ray source#Large amplitude outbursts
* RX J1242-11

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Price, Daniel J.; Liptai, David; Mandel, Ilya; Shepherd, Joanna; Lodato, Giuseppe; Levin, Yuri (2024). "Eddington Envelopes: The Fate of Stars on Parabolic Orbits Tidally Disrupted by Supermassive Black Holes". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 971 (2): L46. arXiv:2404.09381. Bibcode:2024ApJ...971L..46P. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad6862. ISSN 2041-8205.
2. ^ "Astronomers See a Massive Black Hole Tear a Star Apart". Universe today. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
3. ^ "Tidal Disruption of a Star By a Massive Black Hole". Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
4. ^ Guillochon, James; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico (2013-04-10). "Hydrodynamical Simulations to Determine the Feeding Rate of Black Holes by the Tidal Disruption of Stars: The Importance of the Impact Parameter and Stellar Structure". The Astrophysical Journal. 767 (1): 25. arXiv:1206.2350. Bibcode:2013ApJ...767...25G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/767/1/25. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 118900779.
5. ^ Ryu, Taeho; Krolik, Julian; Piran, Tsvi; Noble, Scott C. (2020-12-01). "Tidal Disruptions of Main-sequence Stars. III. Stellar Mass Dependence of the Character of Partial Disruptions". The Astrophysical Journal. 904 (2): 100. arXiv:2001.03503. Bibcode:2020ApJ...904..100R. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abb3ce. ISSN 0004-637X.
6. ^ Hills, J. G. (March 1975). "Possible power source of Seyfert galaxies and QSOs". Nature. 254 (5498): 295–298\. Bibcode:1975Natur.254..295H. doi:10.1038/254295a0. hdl:2027.42/62978. ISSN 1476-4687.
7. ^ a b Rees, Martin J. (June 1988). "Tidal disruption of stars by black holes of 106–108 solar masses in nearby galaxies". Nature. 333 (6173): 523–528\. Bibcode:1988Natur.333..523R. doi:10.1038/333523a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
8. ^ Gezari, Suvi (11 June 2013). "Tidal Disruption Events". Brazilian Journal of Physics. 43 (5–6): 351–355\. Bibcode:2013BrJPh..43..351G. doi:10.1007/s13538-013-0136-z. S2CID 122336157.5–6&rft.pages=351-355&rft.date=2013-06-11&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:122336157#id-name=S2CID&rft_id=info:doi/10.1007/s13538-013-0136-z&rft_id=info:bibcode/2013BrJPh..43..351G&rft.aulast=Gezari&rft.aufirst=Suvi&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Tidal+disruption+event" class="Z3988">
9. ^ Komossa, Stefanie; Halpern, Jules; Schartel, Norbert; Hasinger, Günther; Santos-Lleo, Maria; Predehl, Peter (2004-02-20). "A Huge Drop in the X-Ray Luminosity of the Nonactive Galaxy RX J1242.6–1119A, and the First Postflare Spectrum: Testing the Tidal Disruption Scenario". The Astrophysical Journal. 603 (1): L17. arXiv:astro-ph/0402468. Bibcode:2004ApJ...603L..17K. doi:10.1086/382046. ISSN 0004-637X.
10. ^ van Velzen, Sjoert (2011). "Optical Discovery of Probable Stellar Tidal Disruption Flares". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 73. arXiv:1009.1627. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...73V. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/73. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
11. ^ Mockler, Brenna (2019). "Weighing Black Holes Using Tidal Disruption Events". The Astrophysical Journal. 872 (2): 151. arXiv:1801.08221. Bibcode:2019ApJ...872..151M. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab010f.
12. ^ a b Hammerstein, Erica; van Velzen, Sjoert; Gezari, Suvi; et al. (2023). "The Final Season Reimagined: 30 Tidal Disruption Events from the ZTF-I Survey". The Astrophysical Journal. 942 (1): 9. arXiv:2203.01461. Bibcode:2023ApJ...942....9H. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aca283. ISSN 0004-637X.
13. ^ a b Holoien, Thomas W.-S.; Vallely, Patrick J.; Auchettl, Katie; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, Christopher S.; French, K. Decker; Prieto, Jose L.; Shappee, Benjamin J.; Brown, Jonathan S.; Fausnaugh, Michael M.; Dong, Subo; Thompson, Todd A.; Bose, Subhash; Neustadt, Jack M. M.; Cacella, P.; Brimacombe, J.; Kendurkar, Malhar R.; Beaton, Rachael L.; Boutsia, Konstantina; Chomiuk, Laura; Connor, Thomas; Morrell, Nidia; Newman, Andrew B.; Rudie, Gwen C.; Shishkovsky, Laura; Strader, Jay (2019). "Discovery and Early Evolution of ASASSN-19bt, the First TDE Detected by TESS". The Astrophysical Journal. 883 (2): 111. arXiv:1904.09293. Bibcode:2019ApJ...883..111H. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab3c66. S2CID 128307681.
14. ^ Khabibullin, I.; Sazonov, S. (21 October 2014). "Stellar tidal disruption candidates found by cross-correlating the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue and XMM–Newton observations". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 444 (2): 1041–1053\. arXiv:1407.6284. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu1491. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
15. ^ Gezari, S.; Martin, D. C.; Milliard, B.; Basa, S.; Halpern, J. P.; Forster, K.; Friedman, P. G.; Morrissey, P.; Neff, S. G.; Schiminovich, D.; Seibert, M.; Small, T.; Wyder, T. K. (10 December 2006). "Ultraviolet Detection of the Tidal Disruption of a Star by a Supermassive Black Hole". The Astrophysical Journal. 653 (1): L25 – L28. arXiv:astro-ph/0612069. Bibcode:2006ApJ...653L..25G. doi:10.1086/509918.
16. ^ Gezari, Suvi (2021-09-01). "Tidal Disruption Events". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 59: 21–58\. arXiv:2104.14580. Bibcode:2021ARA&A..59...21G. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-111720-030029. ISSN 0066-4146.
17. ^ Golightly, E. C. A.; Nixon, C. J.; Coughlin, E. R. (2019-09-01). "On the Diversity of Fallback Rates from Tidal Disruption Events with Accurate Stellar Structure". The Astrophysical Journal. 882 (2): L26. arXiv:1907.05895. Bibcode:2019ApJ...882L..26G. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab380d. ISSN 0004-637X.
18. ^ Yao, Yuhan; Ravi, Vikram; Gezari, Suvi; van Velzen, Sjoert; Lu, Wenbin; Schulze, Steve; Somalwar, Jean J.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Hammerstein, Erica; Nicholl, Matt; Graham, Matthew J.; Perley, Daniel A.; Cenko, S. Bradley; Stein, Robert; Ricarte, Angelo (2023-09-01). "Tidal Disruption Event Demographics with the Zwicky Transient Facility: Volumetric Rates, Luminosity Function, and Implications for the Local Black Hole Mass Function". The Astrophysical Journal. 955 (1): L6. arXiv:2303.06523. Bibcode:2023ApJ...955L...6Y. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acf216. ISSN 0004-637X.
19. ^ Cendes, Y.; Alexander, K. D.; Berger, E.; Eftekhari, T.; Williams, P. K. G.; Chornock, R. (1 October 2021). "Radio Observations of an Ordinary Outflow from the Tidal Disruption Event AT2019dsg". The Astrophysical Journal. 919 (2): 127. arXiv:2103.06299. Bibcode:2021ApJ...919..127C. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac110a. ISSN 0004-637X.
20. ^ Eftekhari, T.; Berger, E.; Zauderer, B. A.; Margutti, R.; Alexander, K. D. (20 February 2018). "Radio Monitoring of the Tidal Disruption Event Swift J164449.3+573451. III. Late-time Jet Energetics and a Deviation from Equipartition". The Astrophysical Journal. 854 (2): 86. arXiv:1710.07289. Bibcode:2018ApJ...854...86E. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaa8e0.
21. ^ Hensley, Kerry (2023-11-08). "Why Are Jets from Disrupted Stars So Rare?". AAS Nova. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
22. ^ Hills, J. G. (March 1975). "Possible power source of Seyfert galaxies and QSOs". Nature. 254 (5498): 295–298\. Bibcode:1975Natur.254..295H. doi:10.1038/254295a0. hdl:2027.42/62978. ISSN 0028-0836.
23. ^ Lacy, J. H.; Townes, C. H.; Hollenbach, D. J. (November 1982). "The nature of the central parsec of the Galaxy". The Astrophysical Journal. 262: 120. Bibcode:1982ApJ...262..120L. doi:10.1086/160402. ISSN 0004-637X.
24. ^ Gezari, Suvi (2014). "The tidal disruption of stars by supermassive black holes". Physics Today. 67 (5): 37–42\. Bibcode:2014PhT....67e..37G. doi:10.1063/PT.3.2382. ISSN 0031-9228.
25. ^ Bloom, Joshua (2011). "A Possible Relativistic Jetted Outburst from a Massive Black Hole Fed by a Tidally Disrupted Star" (PDF). Science. 333 (6039): 203–206\. arXiv:1104.3257. Bibcode:2011Sci...333..203B. doi:10.1126/science.1207150. PMID 21680812.
26. ^ Cendes, Yvette (8 December 2021). "How do black holes swallow stars?". Astronomy Magazine. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
27. ^ van Velzen, Sjoert (2016). "A radio jet from the optical and x-ray bright stellar tidal disruption flare ASASSN-14li". Science. 351 (6268): 62–65\. arXiv:1511.08803. Bibcode:2016Sci...351...62V. doi:10.1126/science.aad1182. PMID 26612833.
28. ^ Jiang, Ning; Dou, Liming; Wang, Tinggui; Yang, Chenwei; Lyu, Jianwei; Zhou, Hongyan (1 September 2016). "The WISE Detection of an Infrared Echo in Tidal Disruption Event ASASSN-14li". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 828 (1): L14. arXiv:1605.04640. Bibcode:2016ApJ...828L..14J. doi:10.3847/2041-8205/828/1/L14. S2CID 119159417.
29. ^ Cendes, Y.; Berger, E.; Alexander, K. D.; Gomez, S.; Hajela, A.; Chornock, R.; Laskar, T.; Margutti, R.; Metzger, B.; Bietenholz, M. F.; Brethauer, D.; Wieringa, M. H. (1 October 2022). "A Mildly Relativistic Outflow Launched Two Years after Disruption in Tidal Disruption Event AT2018hyz". The Astrophysical Journal. 938 (1): 28. arXiv:2206.14297. Bibcode:2022ApJ...938...28C. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac88d0.
30. ^ Matsumoto, Tatsuya; Piran, Tsvi (2 May 2023). "Generalized equipartition method from an arbitrary viewing angle". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 522 (3): 4565–4576\. arXiv:2211.10051. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1269.
31. ^ Garner, Rob (2019-09-25). "TESS Spots Its 1st Star-shredding Black Hole". NASA. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
32. ^ Nicholl, M.; Wevers, T.; Oates, S. R.; Alexander, K. D.; Leloudas, G.; Onori, F.; Jerkstrand, A.; Gomez, S.; Campana, S. (2020-09-14). "An outflow powers the optical rise of the nearby, fast-evolving tidal disruption event AT2019qiz". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 499 (1): 482–504\. arXiv:2006.02454. Bibcode:2020MNRAS.499..482N. doi:10.1093/mnras/staa2824. S2CID 219305100.
33. ^ Andreoni, Igor (2022). "A very luminous jet from the disruption of a star by a massive black hole" (PDF). Nature. 612 (7940): 430–434\. arXiv:2211.16530. Bibcode:2022Natur.612..430A. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05465-8. hdl:1874/426802. PMID 36450988.
34. ^ Makrygianni, Lydia; Arcavi, Iair; Newsome, Megan; Bandopadhyay, Ananya; Coughlin, Eric R.; Linial, Itai; Mockler, Brenna; Quataert, Eliot; Nixon, Chris; Godson, Benjamin; Pursiainen, Miika; Leloudas, Giorgos; French, K. Decker; Zitrin, Adi; Faris, Sara (2025-07-01). "The Double Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dbl Implies that at Least Some "Standard" Optical Tidal Disruption Events Are Partial Disruptions". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 987 (1): L20. arXiv:2505.16867. Bibcode:2025ApJ...987L..20M. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ade155. ISSN 2041-8205.
35. ^ Lin, Dacheng (25 July 2020). "ATel #13895: ASASSN-20hx is a Hard Tidal Disruption Event Candidate". The Astronomer's Telegram. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
36. ^ Hinkle, J.T.; et al. (24 July 2020). "Atel #13893: Classification of ASASSN-20hx as a Tidal Disruption Event Candidate". The Astronomer's Telegram. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
37. ^ Yao, Yuhan; et al. (2025). "A Massive Black Hole 0.8 KPC from the Host Nucleus Revealed by the Offset Tidal Disruption Event AT2024tvd". The Astrophysical Journal. 985 (2): L48. arXiv:2502.17661. Bibcode:2025ApJ...985L..48Y. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/add7de.

## External links

[edit]

* The Open TDE catalog, a catalog of claimed tidal disruption events.

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