Abstract
We consider the implications of the presence of an ∼1 stellar-mass black hole (BH) at the center of a dense globular cluster. We show that BH X-ray binaries formed through exchange interactions are likely to have extremely low duty cycles (under about 10-3), consistent with the absence of BH X-ray transients in Galactic globular clusters. In contrast, we find that BH X-ray binaries formed through tidal capture would be persistent, bright X-ray sources. Given the absence of any such source and the very high interaction rates, we conclude that tidal capture of a main-sequence star by a BH most likely leads to the complete disruption of the star.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | L171-L174 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
| Volume | 601 |
| Issue number | 2 II |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1 2004 |
Funding
We acknowledge support from the Aspen Center for Physics, where this work began. We thank K. Belczynski, J. Fregeau, T. Maccarone, and R. Taam for useful discussions. V. K. is partially supported by a Packard Fellowship, F. A. R. by NASA ATP grant NAG5-12044 and a Chandra Theory Grant, and A. R. K. by a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. A. R. K. also thanks the Theoretical Astrophysics Group at Northwestern University for visitors’ support.
Keywords
- Accretion, accretion disks
- Binaries: close
- Black hole physics
- Globular clusters: general
- Stellar dynamics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science