Project Description
Tidal disruption events (TDEs) occur when a star passes too close to a supermassive black hole (SMBH) and is torn apart by tidal forces. Part of the stellar debris is captured by the SMBH’s gravity, forming an accretion disk, while the rest is expelled at high velocities. These events shine brightly across multiple wavelengths, including optical, UV, and X-ray, providing a unique opportunity to study the fundamental physics of accretion disk formation, fallback dynamics, and emission mechanisms. Understanding TDEs is critical for developing more accurate theoretical models and interpreting their diverse observational signatures.In Phase 1, we probed the TDE-neutrino connection: with an improved reconstruction of the IceCube events, the previously reported correlation turned out not to be significant. We identified AT2019aalc as a repeating TDE candidate, showed that rapid disk formation is preferred over a shock-driven stellar-stream model for classical TDEs, and found from radio observations that circular polarization is disfavored as a prominent TDE tracer.
In Phase 2 we want to get a more complete understanding of the thermal and non-thermal processes powering the multi-wavelength TDE emission. Specifically, we will:
- Quantify how stellar and SMBH parameters (mass, spin, stellar structure, orbital configuration) control fallback rates, disk formation and re-brightening behavior.
- Identify the geometrical and radiative signatures of rapid disk formation vs. stream-collision scenarios using spectro-polarimetry and multi-wavelength light curves.
- Determine when and how TDEs form relativistic/sub-relativistic outflows and accelerate particles, to predict gamma-ray and neutrino signals for targeted and stacking searches.
