Stars Versus Quasar Accretion Disks

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dc.contributor.advisorPatrick B Hall
dc.contributor.authorLucas Matthew Seaton
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-04T15:09:58Z
dc.date.available2023-08-04T15:09:58Z
dc.date.issued2023-08-04
dc.date.updated2023-08-04T15:09:57Z
dc.degree.disciplinePhysics And Astronomy
dc.degree.levelMaster's
dc.degree.nameMSc - Master of Science
dc.description.abstractThis thesis investigates the astrophysical effects of stars colliding with the accretion disks of supermassive black holes (SMBH) in active galactic nuclei (AGN). In this work, we model the AGN to have a thin accretion disk surrounded by a stellar nuclear cluster (SNC) containing stars on various orbital eccentricities and inclination angles striking the disk at periapse. An impacting star carves a tilted cylindrical tunnel out of the disk material and loses up to $6\times10^{-4}\%$ of its stellar mass. The time-averaged collisional luminosity is at most $10^{-2}$ times the entire disk's expected luminosity, while the emission profile of an impact site initially flares before quickly dimming to the brightness of the local disk. The parameters of the SMBH, accretion disk, SNC, and impacting stars are altered to reveal that star-disk collisions from a densely populated SNC can outshine the disk luminosity.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10315/41323
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectAstronomy
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.subject.keywordsastrophysics
dc.subject.keywordsactive galactic nuclei
dc.subject.keywordsquasars
dc.subject.keywordsaccretion
dc.subject.keywordsaccretion disks
dc.subject.keywordssupermassive black holes
dc.subject.keywordsblack hole physics
dc.subject.keywordshigh energy astrophysical phenomena
dc.subject.keywordsastrophysics of galaxies
dc.subject.keywordsstar clusters
dc.subject.keywordskinematics and dynamics of stars
dc.titleStars Versus Quasar Accretion Disks
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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