Mapping the Outcomes of Stellar Evolution in the Disks of Active Galactic Nuclei
arXiv:2408.16050 · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ada896
Abstract
The disks of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are expected to be populated by numerous stars, either formed in the outer regions of the disk via gravitational instability, or captured from the nearby nuclear star cluster. Regardless of their formation mechanism, these stars experience altered evolutionary paths, mostly shaped by the accretion of dense disk material. In this study, through the comparison of different timescales, we chart the evolutionary outcomes of these AGN stars as a function of disk radius and across a range of supermassive black hole (SMBH) masses, spanning from to , for two popular AGN disk models. We find that, in the outer regions of the disk, stars evolve similarly to those in the interstellar medium, but in the inner and denser regions accretion quickly turns low-mass stars into massive stars, and their fate depends on just how quickly they accrete. If accretion occurs at a faster rate than nuclear burning, they can reach a quasi-steady `immortal' state. If stars accrete faster than they can thermally adjust, runaway accretion occurs, potentially preventing a quasi-steady state and altering the disk structure. During the AGN lifetime, in the regions of the disk that produce massive stars, supernovae (SNe) and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) may occur within the disk over a wide range of optical depths and ambient densities. Subsequently, in the final phase of the AGN, as the disk becomes depleted, formerly immortal stars will be unable to replenish their fuel, leading to additional SNe and GRBs.
14 pages, 7 figures, Accepted by ApJ
References in corpus (36)
- GW190521: A Binary Black Hole Merger with a Total Mass of
- Hierarchical mergers of stellar-mass black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures
- Hydrodynamics of Embedded Planets' First Atmospheres. II. A Rapid Recycling of Atmospheric Gas
- Quasistars: Accreting black holes inside massive envelopes
- Nitrogen enhancements 440 Myr after the Big Bang: super-solar N/O, a tidal disruption event or a dense stellar cluster in GN-z11?
- Accretion Discs with Strong Toroidal Magnetic Fields
- Understanding extreme quasar optical variability with CRTS: I. Major AGN flares
- Black Hole Formation in the Lower Mass Gap through Mergers and Accretion in AGN Disks
- Star Formation in Accretion Disks and SMBH Growth
- Electromagnetic Signatures of Relativistic Explosions in AGN Disks
- Binary Black Hole Merger Rates in AGN Disks versus Nuclear Star Clusters: Loud beats Quiet
- Neutron Star Mergers in AGN Accretion Disks: Cocoon and Ejecta Shock Breakouts
- Accretion-modified Stars in Accretion Disks of Active Galactic Nuclei: Slowly Transient Appearance
- Accretion onto Stars in the Disks of Active Galactic Nuclei
- Supernova explosions in active galactic nuclear discs
- Stellar Evolution in the Disks of Active Galactic Nuclei Produces Rapidly Rotating Massive Stars
- Observable signature of merging stellar-mass black holes in active galactic nuclei
- In-situ extreme mass ratio inspirals via sub-parsec formation and migration of stars in thin, gravitationally unstable AGN discs
- LIGO--Virgo correlations between mass ratio and effective inspiral spin: testing the active galactic nuclei channel
- The Effect of Thermal Torques on AGN Disc Migration Traps and Gravitational Wave Populations
- A Sample of Quasars with Strong Nitrogen Emission Lines from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
- Accretion-Induced Collapse of Neutron Stars in the Disks of Active Galactic Nuclei
- Multiple channels for nitrogen pollution by metal enriched supermassive stars and implications for GN-z11
- Feedback-Dominated Accretion Flows
- pAGN: the one-stop solution for AGN disc modeling
- Thermonuclear Explosions and Accretion-induced Collapses of White Dwarfs in Active Galactic Nucleus Accretion Disks
- Symmetry Breaking in Dynamical Encounters in the Disks of Active Galactic Nuclei
- The maximum accretion rate of a protoplanet: how fast can runaway be?
- Aligning Retrograde Nuclear Cluster Orbits with an Active Galactic Nucleus Accretion Disc
- Eccentric Mergers in AGN Discs: Influence of the Supermassive Black-Hole on Three-body Interactions
- Observable signatures of stellar-mass black holes in active galactic nuclei
- Micro Tidal Disruption Events in Active Galactic Nuclei
- GRB 191019A: a short gamma-ray burst in disguise from the disk of an active galactic nucleus
- The emergence of diffused Gamma-Ray Burst afterglows from the disks of Active Galactic Nuclei
- Prompt Emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the High-density Environment of Active Galactic Nuclei Accretion Disks
- The Influence of Disk Composition on the Evolution of Stars in the Disks of Active Galactic Nuclei
Cited by in corpus (6)
- 3D Adiabatic Simulations of Binary Black Hole Formation in AGN
- An Extremely Luminous Flare Recorded from a Supermassive Black Hole
- Observational Properties of Thermal Emission from Relativistic Jets Embedded in AGN Disks
- Dating N loud AGNs at high redshift: GS3073 as a snapshot of wCen like evolution of a nuclear star cluster
- Identifying intermediate mass binary black hole mergers in AGN disks using LISA
- Stellar Stripping and Disruption in Disks around Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: Repeating nuclear transients prior to LISA events