The optical, UV-plateau and X-ray tidal disruption event luminosity functions reproduced from first principles

Understand

We reproduce the luminosity functions of the early-time peak optical luminosity, the late-time UV plateau luminosity, and the peak X-ray luminosity of tidal disruption events, using an entirely first-principles theoretical approach.

• We do this by first fitting three free parameters of the tidal disruption event black hole mass distribution using the observed distribution of late time UV plateau luminosities, using a time-dependent relativistic accretion model.
• Using this black hole mass distribution we are then, with no further free parameters of the theory, able to reproduce exactly the peak X-ray luminosity distribution of the tidal disruption event population.
• This proves that the X-ray luminosity of tidal disruption events are sourced from the same accretion flows which produce the late time UV plateau.