Disk Formation in a Tidal Disruption Event (VIDEO)
Caption
These videos were generated from computer simulations of the disruption of a star by a supermassive black hole. About half of the star's mass gets ejected in a narrow band of material, while the rest of the star remains bound to the black hole by gravity, eventually forming an accretion disk of material spiraling into the black hole. The first video (orange colors) is a 2-dimensional rendering of the disruption, and the second shows 3-dimensional density contours with the color depicting temperature. The simulations show that observers would not see evidence of hydrogen in the star during the early stages of accretion disk formation.
Credit
James Guillochon
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