Watch as eight stars skirt a black hole 1 million times the mass of the Sun in these supercomputer simulations. As they approach, all are stretched and deformed by the black hole’s gravity. Some are completely pulled apart into a long stream of gas, a cataclysmic phenomenon called a tidal disruption event. Others are only partially disrupted, retaining some of their mass and returning to their normal shapes after their horrific encounters.
These simulations, led by Taeho Ryu, a fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany, are the first to combine the physical effects of Einstein’s general theory of relativity with realistic stellar density models. The virtual stars range from about one-tenth to 10 times the Sun’s mass.
The division between stars that fully disrupt and those that endure isn’t simply related to mass. Instead, survival depends more on the star’s density.
By Jeanette Kazmierczak
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md