Optical Thermonuclear Transients From Tidal Compression of White Dwarfs as Tracers of the Low End of the Massive Black Hole Mass Function

Understand

In this paper, we model the observable signatures of tidal disruptions of white dwarf (WD) stars by massive black holes (MBHs) of moderate mass, $\approx 10^3 - 10^5 M_\odot$.

• When the WD passes deep enough within the MBH's tidal field, these signatures include thermonuclear transients from burning during maximum compression.
• We combine a hydrodynamic simulation that includes nuclear burning of the disruption of a $0.6 M_\odot$ C/O WD with a Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculation to synthesize the properties of a representative transient.
• The transient's emission emerges in the optical, with lightcurves and spectra reminiscent of type I SNe.