Impact of mass transfer on the orbital evolution of a white dwarf close to an intermediate-mass black hole

TL;DR

This paper models the relativistic orbit of a white dwarf around an intermediate-mass black hole, revealing how mass transfer influences orbital evolution and gravitational wave signals, with implications for multi-messenger astronomy.

Contribution

It introduces a combined relativistic and mass transfer model for white dwarf-IMBH systems, highlighting the impact of phase-dependent mass transfer on orbital dynamics and gravitational wave phase evolution.

Findings

Mass transfer can increase orbital period and eccentricity.

Mass transfer may prevent tidal disruption and allow escape.

Detectable gravitational wave phase shifts due to mass transfer.

Abstract

Extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) of low-mass white dwarfs (WDs, 0.1 - 0.3 Msun) around spinning intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs, 10^3 - 10^5 Msun) offer unique opportunities for multi-messenger astronomy, emitting both gravitational waves (GWs) and electromagnetic (EM) signals. Yet, despite their astrophysical relevance, theoretical models often omit key interactions between relativistic dynamics and phase-dependent mass transfer (MT). In this study, we integrate a perturbed Keplerian formalism with post-Newtonian (PN) corrections to simulate the relativistic orbit of a WD around a rotating IMBH, explicitly resolving the narrow phase near pericentre where Roche-lobe overflow initiates MT. We find that GW emission and MT exert competing influences on the orbit: MT episodes can increase both orbital period and eccentricity, potentially enabling the WD to avoid complete tidal disruption and even escape. We further quantify the GW phase evolution induced by MT, identifying parameter regimes in which GW detectors could observe a one-radian phase shift over observational timescales. Finally, we propose that the orbital expansion driven by MT may lead to the disappearance of quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs). Our results underscore the necessity of jointly modeling relativistic effects and dynamic mass transfer in WD-IMBH systems.