Abstract
Mergers are fundamental to the standard paradigm of galaxy evolution, and provide a natural formation mechanism for supermassive black hole binaries. The formation process of such a binary can have a direct impact on the rate at which stars are tidally disrupted by one or the other black hole, and the luminous signature of the tidal disruption itself can have distinct imprints of a binary companion. In this chapter we review our current understanding of the influence of black hole binarity on the properties of tidal disruption events. We discuss the rates of tidal disruption by supermassive black hole binaries, the impact of a second black hole on the fallback of debris and the formation of an accretion flow, and the prospects for detection of tidal disruption events by supermassive black hole binaries.
Highlights
Supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries are a byproduct of the hierarchical picture of galactic evolution
This process continues to reduce the separation between the SMBHs until the SMBH binary circular velocity exceeds the stellar velocity dispersion of the stars within the merged galaxy, at which point it becomes a bound system in the sense that the two SMBHs feel each other’s gravitational presence
On kpc-scales there is a growing body of informative observational data from the detection of dual Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) (e.g., Comerford et al 2013). In this Chapter we argue that observing the tidal disruption of stars by one black hole in a binary system – on scales roughly a million times smaller than dual AGN – could yield valuable constraints on merger physics immediately prior to the final coalescence detectable in gravitational waves
Summary
Supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries are a byproduct of the hierarchical picture of galactic evolution. On kpc-scales there is a growing body of informative observational data from the detection of dual Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) (e.g., Comerford et al 2013) In this Chapter we argue that observing the tidal disruption of stars by one black hole in a binary system – on scales roughly a million times smaller than dual AGN – could yield valuable constraints on merger physics immediately prior to (i.e., when the SMBH binary is within the gravitational-wave inspiral regime) the final coalescence detectable in gravitational waves.
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