2024 February 10 | Yiyan Wang, Douglas N. C. Lin, Bing Zhang, and Zhaohuan Zhu
This study investigates the behavior of changing-look active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and proposes a new mechanism involving disk-captured tidal disruption events (TDEs) that could explain the observed transitions. The research suggests that the interaction between the accretion disk of an AGN and retrograde stars in the nuclear star cluster (NSC) can lead to a significantly higher TDE rate during the AGN phase. This enhanced rate, which can be several orders of magnitude higher than the traditional relaxation-induced TDE rate, could account for the frequent transitions seen in changing-look AGNs.
The study calculates the time-dependent TDE rates for both relaxation-induced and disk-captured TDEs. It finds that disk-captured TDEs, which occur when stars from the NSC are captured by the AGN disk, can significantly increase the TDE rate. This mechanism is particularly effective for AGNs hosting massive supermassive black holes (SMBHs), where the disk-captured TDE rate can reach up to $10^{-2}-10^{0} \text{ yr}^{-1}$, potentially explaining the high incidence of repeating CL phenomena and the elevated CL-AGN ratio.
The research also highlights that the presence of an AGN disk alters the orbital evolution of stars in the NSC, leading to a depletion of stars and a change in the relaxation process. This change makes the TDE rate less efficient compared to scenarios with a dormant SMBH. However, the disk-captured TDEs, which involve stars with lower eccentricity, can result in more gentle tidal disruptions, potentially leading to phenomena such as partial disruption or tidal peeling.
The study further suggests that the disk-captured TDEs could be linked to quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs), which might serve as a precursor to CL-AGN "turn-on." The findings indicate that the TDE rate in AGNs can be several orders of magnitude higher than in quiescent galaxies, primarily due to the disk-captured process. This implies that a significant proportion of TDEs may have been overlooked in previous surveys, and future TDE surveys should consider the occurrences of TDEs in AGNs. The results provide a potential explanation for the enhanced high-energy variability characteristic of changing-look AGNs.This study investigates the behavior of changing-look active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and proposes a new mechanism involving disk-captured tidal disruption events (TDEs) that could explain the observed transitions. The research suggests that the interaction between the accretion disk of an AGN and retrograde stars in the nuclear star cluster (NSC) can lead to a significantly higher TDE rate during the AGN phase. This enhanced rate, which can be several orders of magnitude higher than the traditional relaxation-induced TDE rate, could account for the frequent transitions seen in changing-look AGNs.
The study calculates the time-dependent TDE rates for both relaxation-induced and disk-captured TDEs. It finds that disk-captured TDEs, which occur when stars from the NSC are captured by the AGN disk, can significantly increase the TDE rate. This mechanism is particularly effective for AGNs hosting massive supermassive black holes (SMBHs), where the disk-captured TDE rate can reach up to $10^{-2}-10^{0} \text{ yr}^{-1}$, potentially explaining the high incidence of repeating CL phenomena and the elevated CL-AGN ratio.
The research also highlights that the presence of an AGN disk alters the orbital evolution of stars in the NSC, leading to a depletion of stars and a change in the relaxation process. This change makes the TDE rate less efficient compared to scenarios with a dormant SMBH. However, the disk-captured TDEs, which involve stars with lower eccentricity, can result in more gentle tidal disruptions, potentially leading to phenomena such as partial disruption or tidal peeling.
The study further suggests that the disk-captured TDEs could be linked to quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs), which might serve as a precursor to CL-AGN "turn-on." The findings indicate that the TDE rate in AGNs can be several orders of magnitude higher than in quiescent galaxies, primarily due to the disk-captured process. This implies that a significant proportion of TDEs may have been overlooked in previous surveys, and future TDE surveys should consider the occurrences of TDEs in AGNs. The results provide a potential explanation for the enhanced high-energy variability characteristic of changing-look AGNs.