Why are Quasiperiodic Eruptions only Found in Low-Mass Galaxies?
arXiv:2308.02489 · doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slad113
Abstract
I consider the current sample of galaxy nuclei producing quasiperiodic eruptions (QPEs). If the quasiperiod results from the orbital motion of a star around the central black hole, the dearth of associated black hole masses $\gtrsim 10^6\msun$ places tight constraints on models. It disfavours those assuming wide orbits and small eccentricities, because there is ample volume within pericentre to allow significantly more massive holes in QPE systems than are currently observed. If instead the orbiting star is assumed to pass close to the black hole, the same lack of large black hole masses strongly suggests that the stellar orbits must be significantly eccentric, with . This favours a tidal disruption near-miss picture where QPEs result from repeated accretion from an orbiting star (in practice a white dwarf) losing orbital angular momentum to gravitational radiation, even though this is not assumed in deriving the eccentricity constraint. Given the tight constraints resulting from the current small observed sample, attempts to find QPE systems in more massive galaxies are clearly important.
arXiv commentAccepted for MNRAS Letters
References in corpus (22)
- An Intermediate-mass Black Hole of Over 500 Solar Masses in the Galaxy ESO 243-49
- Nine-hour X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions from a low-mass black hole galactic nucleus
- X-ray Quasi-Periodic Eruptions from two previously quiescent galaxies
- Tidal disruption rate of stars by spinning supermassive black holes
- X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions from the galactic nucleus of RX J1301.9+2747
- ASASSN-14ko is a Periodic Nuclear Transient in ESO 253-G003
- GSN 069 -- A Tidal Disruption Near-Miss
- X-ray Quasi-periodic Eruptions driven by Star-Disc Collisions : Application to GSN069 and Probing the Spin of Massive Black Holes
- Interacting Stellar EMRIs as Sources of Quasi-Periodic Eruptions in Galactic Nuclei
- Repeating tidal disruptions in GSN 069: Long-term evolution and constraints on quasi-periodic eruptions' models
- Stellar transits across a magnetized accretion torus as a mechanism for plasmoid ejection
- Quasi-periodic eruptions from mildly eccentric unstable mass transfer in galactic nuclei
- Quasi--Periodic Eruptions from Galaxy Nuclei
- Quasi-Periodic Erupters: A Stellar Mass-Transfer Model for the Radiation
- Quasi-periodic Eruptions from Helium Envelope of Hydrogen-deficient Stars Stripped by Supermassive Black Holes
- A model for the possible connection between tidal disruption event and quasi-periodic eruption in GSN 069
- Evidence of a tidal disruption event in GSN 069 from the abnormal carbon and nitrogen abundance ratio
- Mass loss through the L2 Lagrange point - Application to Main Sequence EMRI
- Milli-Hertz Gravitational Wave Background Produced by Quasi-Periodic Eruptions
- Angular Momentum Transfer in QPEs from Galaxy Nuclei
- QPE or QPO? -- Quasiperiodic Activity in Low-Mass Galaxy Nuclei
- Flares from stars crossing active galactic nuclei disks on low-inclination orbits