Relativistic effects in the tidal interaction between a white dwarf and a massive black hole in Fermi normal coordinates

Understand

We consider tidal encounters between a white dwarf and an intermediate mass black hole.

• Both weak encounters and those at the threshold of disruption are modeled.
• The numerical code combines mesh-based hydrodynamics, a spectral method solution of the self-gravity, and a general relativistic Fermi normal coordinate system that follows the star and debris.
• Fermi normal coordinates provide an expansion of the black hole tidal field that includes quadrupole and higher multipole moments and relativistic corrections.