Accretion Flares from Stellar Collisions in Galactic Nuclei

Understand

The strong tidal force in a supermassive black hole's (SMBH) vicinity, coupled with a higher stellar density at the center of a galaxy, make it an ideal location to study the interaction between stars and black holes.

• Two stars moving near the SMBH could collide at a very high speed, which can result in a high energy flare.
• The resulting debris can then accrete onto the SMBH, which could be observed as a separate event.
• We simulate the light curves resulting from the fallback accretion in the aftermath of a stellar collision near a SMBH.