Formation of Low-mass Black Holes and Single Millisecond Pulsars in Globular Clusters

TL;DR

This paper investigates how tidal disruptions of stars by neutron stars in globular clusters can lead to the formation of low-mass black holes and millisecond pulsars, using simulations to analyze outcomes and implications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive model combining N-body and hydrodynamic simulations to explore tidal disruption events and their role in forming millisecond pulsars and low-mass black holes in globular clusters.

Findings

Tidal disruption events are most frequent in core-collapsed clusters.

Approximately 80-90% of stellar mass becomes bound to neutron stars after disruption.

Disrupted neutron stars can attain millisecond spin periods or collapse into low-mass black holes.

Abstract

Close encounters between neutron stars and main-sequence stars occur in globular clusters and may lead to various outcomes. Here we study encounters resulting in tidal disruption of the star. Using $N$-body models, we predict the typical stellar masses in these disruptions and the dependence of the event rate on host cluster properties. We find that tidal disruption events occur most frequently in core-collapsed globular clusters and that roughly $25\%$ of the disrupted stars are merger products (i.e., blue straggler stars). Using hydrodynamic simulations, we model the tidal disruptions themselves (over timescales of days) to determine the mass bound to the neutron star and the properties of the accretion disks formed. In general, we find that roughly $80-90\%$ of the initial stellar mass becomes bound to the neutron star following disruption. Additionally, we find that neutron stars receive impulsive kicks of up to about $20\,$km/s as a result of the asymmetry of unbound ejecta; these kicks place these neutron stars on elongated orbits within their host cluster, with apocenter distances well outside the cluster core. Finally, we model the evolution of the (hypercritical) accretion disks on longer timescales (days to years after disruption) to estimate the accretion rate onto the neutron stars and accompanying spin-up. As long as $\gtrsim1\%$ of the bound mass accretes onto the neutron star, millisecond spin periods can be attained. We argue the growing numbers of isolated millisecond pulsars observed in globular clusters may have formed, at least in part, through this mechanism. In the case of significant mass growth, some of these neutron stars may collapse to form low-mass ($\lesssim3\,M_{\odot}$) black holes.