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The capture of main sequence stars and giant stars by a massive black hole

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2006

Y. Lu
Affiliation:
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012, China email: [email protected]
Y. F Huang
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Z. Zheng
Affiliation:
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012, China email: [email protected]
S. N. Zhang
Affiliation:
Physics Department and Center for Astrophysics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Abstract

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Since the mass-radius relation is quite different for a main sequence (MS) star and a giant (G) star, we find that the radiation efficiencies in the star capture processes by a black hole (BH) are also very different. This may provide a useful way to distinguish the capture of MS and G stars. Comparing with observations of the very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emissions, we argue the event that triggers the gamma-ray emission in the energy range 4–40 TeV should be a G star capture. On the other hand, the capture of MS stars by the massive BH is required when the measured spectrum of VHE gamma-rays extends from 109 to 1015 eV.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2007

References

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