Tidally-induced thermonuclear Supernovae

TL;DR

This paper presents 3D simulations showing that tidal disruptions of white dwarfs by moderate-mass black holes can cause thermonuclear supernovae and X-ray flares, providing a new way to detect such black holes.

Contribution

The study demonstrates that tidal disruptions by moderate-mass black holes can produce observable supernovae and X-ray flares, revealing a novel detection method for these black holes.

Findings

Tidal compression can trigger thermonuclear explosions in white dwarfs.

Explosions occur across the entire white dwarf mass range.

Resulting X-ray flares last for a few months and are detectable with future instruments.

Abstract

We discuss the results of 3D simulations of tidal disruptions of white dwarfs by moderate-mass black holes as they may exist in the cores of globular clusters or dwarf galaxies. Our simulations follow self-consistently the hydrodynamic and nuclear evolution from the initial parabolic orbit over the disruption to the build-up of an accretion disk around the black hole. For strong enough encounters (pericentre distances smaller than about 1/3 of the tidal radius) the tidal compression is reversed by a shock and finally results in a thermonuclear explosion. These explosions are not restricted to progenitor masses close to the Chandrasekhar limit, we find exploding examples throughout the whole white dwarf mass range. There is, however, a restriction on the masses of the involved black holes: black holes more massive than $2\times 10^5$ M$_\odot$ swallow a typical 0.6 M$_\odot$ dwarf before their tidal forces can overwhelm the star's self-gravity. Therefore, this mechanism is characteristic for black holes of moderate masses. The material that remains bound to the black hole settles into an accretion disk and produces an X-ray flare close to the Eddington limit of $L_{\rm Edd} \simeq 10^{41} {\rm erg/s} M_{\rm bh}/1000 M$_\odot$), typically lasting for a few months. The combination of a peculiar thermonuclear supernova together with an X-ray flare thus whistle-blows the existence of such moderate-mass black holes. The next generation of wide field space-based instruments should be able to detect such events.