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Cited by 424Astrophysical Phenomena and ObservationsGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, PhenomenaStellar, planetary, and galactic studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record.

Rates of tidal disruption of stars by massive central black holes

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Magorrian, J., Tremaine, S.·1999·Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DOI 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02853.x
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Abstract

There is strong evidence for some kind of massive dark object in the centres of many galaxy bulges. The detection of flares from tidally disrupted stars could confirm that these objects are black holes (BHs). Here we present calculations of the stellar disruption rates in detailed dynamical models of real galaxies, taking into account the refilling of the loss cone of stars on disruptable orbits by two-body relaxation and tidal forces in non-spherical galaxies. The highest disruption rates (one star per 104 yr) occur in faint (L≲1010 L⊙) galaxies, which have steep central density cusps. More luminous galaxies are less dense and have much longer relaxation times and more massive BHs. Dwarf stars in such galaxies are swallowed whole by the BH and hence do not emit flares; giant stars could produce flares as often as every 105 yr, although the rate depends sensitively on the shape of the stellar distribution function. We discuss the possibility of detecting disruption flares in current supernova searches. The total mass of stars consumed over the lifetime of the galaxy is of the order of 106 M⊙, independent of galaxy luminosity; thus, disrupted stars may contribute significantly to the present BH mass in galaxies fainter than ∼109 L⊙.

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  • The expected TDE rate for MW type SMBH is ∼0.3-4e-4 yr^-1 galaxy^-1.

    “Although the observed rate of TDEs in the local universe is ∼ 1 -6 × 10 -5 yr -1 galaxy -1 (Donley et al. 2002; Gezari et al. 2008; Yao et al. 2023), the expected rate for MW type SMBH is ∼ 0 . 3 -4 × 10 -4 yr -1 galaxy -1 (Magorrian & Tremaine 1999; Wang & Merritt 2004; Gezari et al. 2008; Stone & Metzger 2016).”

    From The Fermi/eROSITA bubbles: a look into the nuclear outflow from the Milky Way (2024) · cites this paper as Magorrian & Tremaine 1999

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Metadata

Authors
Magorrian, J., & Tremaine, S.
Affiliations
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Princeton University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
1999-10-21
Volume
309
Issue
2
Pages
447-460
ISSN
  • 0035-8711 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2966
DOI
10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02853.x
OpenAlex
W2065890147
Cited by
424
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 18
FWCI
6.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
Keywords
tidal disruption, supermassive black holes, galactic nuclei, two-body relaxation, tidal forces, galaxy bulges, central density cusp, stellar distribution function, black hole growth, dwarf galaxies, supernova search

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