arXiv subjects

Christopher Tiede

Publications and source records attributed to Christopher Tiede.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Electromagnetic Emission and Orbital Evolution of Eccentric Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in Retrograde Disks

Circumbinary disks around supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are expected to form across a broad range of inclinations, with retrograde configurations potentially a common occurrence. Here we present the first grid-based hydrodynamical simulations of retrograde circumbinary disks around eccentric SMBHBs, solving an energy equation that balances viscous and shock heating against blackbody radiative cooling. We investigate different initial disk Mach numbers $\mathcal{M}_a \in \{10, 20, 40\}$ and consider binary eccentricities $e_\mathrm{b}\in[0.0,\,0.8]$, finding that multiple stable states exist for the same binary eccentricity and Mach number. These states differ by the sense of rotation of their minidisks; both retrograde ($\downarrow\downarrow$), both prograde ($\uparrow\uparrow$), or one of each ($\uparrow\downarrow$), a property set by the initial conditions. Our findings indicate that each state produces qualitatively distinct orbital evolution: $\downarrow\downarrow$ and $\uparrow\downarrow$ minidisks drive circular inspirals whereas $\uparrow\uparrow$ minidisks drive eccentric inspirals with potentially observable eccentricity in the LISA band. We measure the electromagnetic emission produced by the disk, finding that a binary of mass $M_\mathrm{b}=8\times10^6\mathrm{M}_\odot$ at redshift $z=1$ would be detectable by both current and upcoming optical and UV instruments. We demonstrate that the time- and azimuthally-averaged disk profiles are well described by 1D models, which naturally set a cavity radius within which angular momentum transport is dominated by Reynolds stresses rather than viscosity.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Dynamics and detectability of long-lived non-accretion phases for massive black hole binaries in cold, thermally regulating disks

We investigate whether the non-accreting phases found in thin, locally isothermal circumbinary disks survive when the disk thermodynamics are evolved self-consistently. We present grid-based hydrodynamics simulations of circumbinary accretion with an energy equation that includes viscous and hydrodynamic heating coupled to radiative blackbody cooling in the high-Mach number regime. We find that, although gas accumulates and heats at the far edge of the circumbinary cavity, the regions that launch accretion streams remain comparatively cold, leading to potentially long-lived suppression of the binary accretion rate as the large-scale feeding rate is reduced towards the Eddington limit. This runaway non-accretion problem, however, is weakened relative to locally isothermal solutions. Despite their low accretion rates, binaries interacting with disks in a non-accreting phase can remain sufficiently luminous and variable at optical and near-infrared frequencies to be detectable in upcoming wide-field surveys like LSST and the Roman Space Telescope. Because of the effective truncation of the surrounding disk, though, such systems are comparatively faint in high energy, photo-ionizing emission, and may therefore appear as intrinsically X-ray-weak AGN with weak or absent emission line features. We additionally suggest an update to grid-based sink prescriptions for approximating mass loss across an unresolved horizon when including an energy conservation equation.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Spin-Orbit Misalignments of Eccentric Black Hole Mergers in AGN Disks

The disks of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) provide a natural environment where stellar-mass black holes (BHs) can dynamically pair, undergo repeated interactions, and eventually merge. It is commonly assumed that gas accretion will both efficiently spin up disk-embedded black holes and align the orbits of embedded binaries with the disk plane, leading to mergers with preferentially positive effective spin parameters ($\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$). Such predictions have motivated the use of $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$ as a diagnostic for identifying candidate AGN-embedded mergers in the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA gravitational-wave catalog. In this work, we perform post-Newtonian $N$-body simulations of nearly planar binary-single encounters and apply an empirically motivated, gas-driven alignment prescription to characterize the expected $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$-eccentricity correlations of AGN-embedded mergers. By comparing the alignment and gravitational-wave inspiral timescales, we identify the regions of parameter space, across both disk location and binary properties, where full disk-spin-orbit alignment is effective and where it is not. We find that quasi-circular binaries typically align by the time they merge, supporting the standard picture of spin-orbit aligned orientations. By contrast, eccentric binaries (with in-band eccentricity $e_{10\mathrm{Hz}}\gtrsim 0.1$) typically inspiral too quickly for gas torques to act, preserving the post-encounter spin-orbit misalignments and yielding more isotropic $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$ distributions when disk densities and torque efficiencies are modest. This interplay naturally establishes a correlation between binary eccentricity and $\chi_{\mathrm{eff}}$ in AGN disks, highlighting a new key observable of the AGN channel and a potential explanation for massive events such as GW190521 and GW231123.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Hot, cold, and multi-component accretion flows around supermassive black hole binaries

We develop a model for supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) accreting below their Eddington limit, focusing on systems where hot, advection-dominated flows become viable. We specifically explore the spectral appearance of multi-component accretion flows where the solution can independently transition between cold, thin disks and hot, advection-dominated torii depending on the local accretion rate. Using a three-disk model, we compute spectral energy distributions for four possible accretion configurations and assess their observational signatures, including which frequencies might reflect variability at the binary orbital period. The spectral modeling reveals that binary accretion can self-consistently account for many of the properties of standard AGN, while the variability analysis shows that hydrodynamic modulation at the binary period is most likely in the thermal emission and low-frequency synchrotron components. Doppler boosting of emitting material bound to a single binary component would also induce periodic variability. We apply our model to the SMBHB candidate PG1302-102 and demonstrate that a mixed-component accretion state (plus a jet feature) can self-consistently capture the observed broadband spectrum. Our model offers a framework for interpreting candidate SMBHBs and motivates future multi-wavelength follow-up of potential multi-messenger sources, as well as more detailed future modeling of multi-component binary accretion.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Little Red Dots as self-gravitating discs accreting on supermassive stars: Spectral appearance and formation pathway of the progenitors to direct collapse black holes

We propose an alternative physical interpretation and formation pathway for the recently discovered "little red dots" (LRDs). We model LRDs as super-massive stars (SMSs) surrounded by massive self-gravitating accretion discs (SMDs) that form as a consequence of gas-rich major galaxy mergers. The model provides an excellent match for numerous spectral features of LRDs, where the V-shape arises from the superposition of two black bodies, and Balmer line broadening is sourced by the intrinsic rotation of the SMD. No additional AGN, stellar, dust, or broadening component is strictly required. This results in a model with physically motivated parameters that are robust to variations in observed LRD properties. We perform MCMC fits for two representative LRD spectra, for which the full parameter posterior distributions are determined. Allowing for a compressed SMS mass-radius relation, the recovered parameters are compatible with sub-Eddington accretion in self-gravitating discs, and the recovered SMS masses of few $ 10^6$ M$_{\odot}$ imply the subsequent formation of massive black holes (BH) that squarely follow the expected BH mass--galaxy mass relation, while also predicting a cut-off luminosity of order few $10^{44}$ erg/s in quantitative agreement with current observations. While matching the abundance of LRDs is challenging, the association to galaxy mergers produces a redshift distribution that reflects observations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Dissecting environmental effects with eccentric gravitational wave sources

We model the effect of resonances between time-varying perturbative forces and the epi-cyclical motion of eccentric binaries in the gravitational wave (GW) driven regime. These induce secular drifts in the orbital elements which are reflected in a dephasing of the binary's GW signal, derived here systematically. The resulting dephasing prescriptions showcase a much richer phenomenology with respect to typically adopted power-laws, and are better able to model realistic environmental effects (EE). The most important consequences are for gas embedded binaries, which we analyse in detail with a series of analytical calculations, numerical experiments and a curated set of hydrodynamical simulations for equal masses. Even in these simplified tests, we find the surprising result that dephasing caused by epi-cyclical resonances dominate over expectations based on smoothed or orbit averaged gas drag models in GW signals that retain mild eccentricity in the detector band ($e> 0.05$). We discuss how dissecting GW dephasing in its component Fourier modes can be used to probe the coupling of binaries with their surrounding environment in unprecedented detail.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Environmental effects in stellar mass gravitational wave sources I: Expected fraction of signals with significant dephasing in the dynamical and AGN channels

We present the first overview of the expected quantity of signals which will showcase significant gravitational wave phase shifts caused by astrophysical environments, considering the upcoming A+ and A\# LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA, Cosmic Explorer and Einstein Telescope detectors. We construct and analyse two general families of dephasing prescriptions with extensions to eccentric sources, as well as collect five specific prescriptions for the fundamental smoking gun physical mechanisms at play in the dynamical and AGN formation channel for stellar mass binary black holes: Roemer delays, tidal forces and hydrodynamical interactions. We compute the expected fraction of signals containing astrophysical dephasing, as a function of environmental properties and based on observed distributions of binary parameters. We find that next generation detectors can expect to find environmental effects in hundreds of detected signals.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Gravitational Wave Decoupling in Retrograde Circumbinary Disks

We present a study of the late-time interaction between supermassive black hole binaries and retrograde circumbinary disks during the period of gravitational wave-driven inspiral. While mergers in prograde disks have received extensive study, retrograde disks offer distinct dynamics that could promote mergers and produce unique observational signatures. Through numerical simulations, we explore the process of binary-disk decoupling, where the binary's orbital decay rate is faster than the disk's viscous response rate. We find the point of decoupling to be comparable in prograde and retrograde disks, suggesting that any associated electromagnetic (EM) signatures will be produced at comparable times preceding merger. However, we find smaller central cavities for retrograde disks, likely leading to higher-frequency EM emissions and shorter post-merger rebrightening timescales compared to their prograde counterparts. Additionally, we identify quasi-periodic flaring due to instabilities unique to low-viscosity retrograde disks, which may produce distinctive EM signatures.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Stellar Stripping and Disruption in Disks around Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: Repeating nuclear transients prior to LISA events

If supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are driven together by gas disks in galactic nuclei, then a surrounding nuclear star cluster or in-situ star-formation should deliver stars to the disk plane. Migration through the circumbinary disk will quickly bring stars to the edge of a low-density cavity cleared by the binary, where the stellar orbit becomes trapped and locked with the binary decay. Here we explore the scenario where the trapped stellar orbit decays with the binary until the binary tidally strips the star in a runaway process. For Sun-like stars, this occurs preferentially for $10^4-10^6 M_{\odot}$ SMBHBs, as the SMBHB enters the LISA band. We estimate that the runaway stripping process will generate Eddington-level X-ray flares repeating on hours-to-days timescales and lasting for decades. The flaring timescales and energetics of these circumbinary-disk tidal-disruption events (CBD-TDEs) match well with the recently discovered Quasi-Periodic Eruptions. However, the inferred rates of the two phenomena are in tension, unless low-mass SMBHB mergers are more common than expected. For less-dense stars, stripping begins earlier in the SMBHB inspiral, has longer repetition times, lasts longer, is dimmer, and can occur for more massive SMBHBs. Whether CBD-TDEs are a known or a yet-undiscovered class of repeating nuclear transients, they could provide a new probe of the elusive SMBH mergers in low mass / dwarf galaxies, which lie in the sweet-spot of the LISA sensitivity.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Suppressed accretion onto massive black hole binaries surrounded by thin disks

We demonstrate that gas disks around binary systems might deliver gas to the binary components only when the circumbinary disk is relatively warm. We present new grid-based hydrodynamics simulations, performed with the binary on the grid and a locally isothermal equation of state, in which the binary is seen to functionally ``stop accreting'' if the orbital Mach number in the disk exceeds a threshold value of about 40. Above this threshold, the disk continues to extract angular momentum from the binary orbit, but it delivers very little mass to the black holes, and instead piles up mass in a ring surrounding the binary. This ring will eventually become viscously relaxed and deliver mass to the binary at the large-scale inflow rate. However we show that the timescale for such relaxation can far exceed the implied binary lifetime. We demonstrate that the ability of a binary-disk system to equilibrate is dependent on the efficiency at which accretion streams deposit mass onto the binary; which in turn is highly sensitive to the thermodynamic conditions of the inner disk. If disks around massive black hole binaries do operate in such non-accreting regimes, it suggests these systems may be dimmer than their single black hole counterparts, but could exhibit dramatic re-brightening after the black holes in-spiral and merge. This dimming begins in the UV/optical and could completely choke high-energy emission, such that these systems would likely be intrinsically X-ray weak with reddened continua, potentially resembling the spectra of `Little Red Dots'' recently identified in JWST observations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

A novel category of environmental effect in gravitational waves from binaries perturbed by periodic forces

We study the gravitational wave (GW) emission of sources perturbed by periodic dynamical forces which do not cause secular evolution in the orbital elements. We construct a corresponding post-Newtonian waveform model and provide estimates for the detectability of the resulting GW phase perturbations, for both space-based and future ground-based detectors. We validate our results by performing a set of Bayesian parameter recovery experiments with post-Newtonian waveforms. We find that, in stark contrast to the more commonly studied secular dephasing, periodic phase perturbations do not suffer from degeneracies with any of the tested vacuum binary parameters. We discuss the applications of our findings to a range of possible astrophysical scenarios, finding that such periodic perturbations may be detectable for massive black hole binaries embedded in circum-binary discs, extreme mass-ratio inspirals in accretion discs, as well as stellar-mass compact objects perturbed by tidal fields. We argue that modelling conservative sub-orbital dynamics opens up a promising new avenue to detect environmental effects in binary sources of GWs that should be included in state-of-the-art waveform templates.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Accretion mediated spin-eccentricity correlations in LISA massive black hole binaries

We examine expected effective spin ($\chi_{{\rm eff},1\rm yr}$) and orbital eccentricity ($e_{1\rm yr}$) correlations for a population of observable equal-mass massive black hole binaries (MBHBs) with total redshifted mass $M_z\sim[10^{4.5},10^{7.5}]~{\rm M}_\odot$ embedded in a circumbinary disc (CBD), one-year before merging in the LISA band. We find a strong correlation between measurable eccentricity and negative effective spin for MBHBs that are carried to merger by retrograde accretion. This is due to the well-established eccentricity pumping of retrograde accretion and the formation of retrograde CBD-aligned mini-discs, as observed in hydrodynamical simulations. Conversely, prograde accretion channels result in positive $\chi_{{\rm eff},1\rm yr}$ and non-measurable $e_{1\rm yr}$. This clear contrast between the two CBD orientations - and particularly the unique signature of retrograde configurations - provides a promising way to unlock the mysteries of MBHB formation channels in the LISA era.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Fast Methods for Computing Photometric Variability of Eccentric Binaries: Boosting, Lensing, and Variable Accretion

We analyze accretion-rate time series for equal-mass binaries in co-planar gaseous disks spanning a continuous range of orbital eccentricities up to 0.8, for both prograde and retrograde systems. The dominant variability timescales match that of previous investigations; the binary orbital period is dominant for prograde binaries with $e \gtrsim 0.1$, with a 5 times longer "lump" period taking over for $e\lesssim 0.1$. This lump period fades and drops from 5 times to 4.5 times the binary period as $e$ approaches 0.1, where it vanishes. For retrograde orbits, the binary orbital period dominates at $e \lesssim 0.55$ and is accompanied by a 2 times longer-timescale periodicity at higher eccentricities. The shape of the accretion-rate time series varies with binary eccentricity. For prograde systems, the orientation of an eccentric disk causes periodic trading of accretion between the binary components in a ratio that we report as a function of binary eccentricity. We present a publicly available tool, binlite, that can rapidly ($\lesssim 0.01$~sec) generate templates for the accretion-rate time series, onto either binary component, for choice of binary eccentricity below 0.8. As an example use-case, we build lightcurve models where the accretion rate through the circumbinary disk and onto each binary component sets contributions to the emitted specific flux. We combine these rest-frame, accretion-variability lightcurves with observer-dependent Doppler boosting and binary self-lensing. This allows a flexible approach to generating lightcurves over a wide range of binary and observer parameter space. We envision binlite as the access point to a living database that will be updated with state-of-the-art hydrodynamical calculations as they advance.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

The Santa Barbara Binary-Disk Code Comparison

We have performed numerical calculations of a binary interacting with a gas disk, using eleven different numerical methods and a standard binary-disk setup. The goal of this study is to determine whether all codes agree on a numerically converged solution, and to determine the necessary resolution for convergence and the number of binary orbits that must be computed to reach an agreed-upon relaxed state of the binary-disk system. We find that all codes can agree on a converged solution (depending on the diagnostic being measured). The zone spacing required for most codes to reach a converged measurement of the torques applied to the binary by the disk is roughly 1% of the binary separation in the vicinity of the binary components. For our disk model to reach a relaxed state, codes must be run for at least 200 binary orbits, corresponding to about a viscous time for our parameters, $0.2 (a^2 \Omega_B /\nu)$ binary orbits, where $\nu$ is the kinematic viscosity. We did not investigate dependence on binary mass ratio, eccentricity, disk temperature, or disk viscosity; therefore, these benchmarks may act as guides towards expanding converged solutions to the wider parameter space but might need to be updated in a future study that investigates dependence on system parameters. We find the most major discrepancies between codes resulted from the dimensionality of the setup (3D vs 2D disks). Beyond this, we find good agreement in the total torque on the binary between codes, although the partition of this torque between the gravitational torque, orbital accretion torque, and spin accretion torque depends sensitively on the sink prescriptions employed. In agreement with previous studies, we find a modest difference in torques and accretion variability between 2D and 3D disk models. We find cavity precession rates to be appreciably faster in 3D than in 2D.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2024

Long-term Evolution of Binary Orbits Induced by Circumbinary Disks

Circumbinary disks are found in a variety of astrophysical scenarios, spanning binary star formation to accreting supermassive black hole binaries. The interaction with a circumbinary disk can yield opposite effects on the binary orbit leading to circularization, or exciting the eccentricity, widening the orbit or shrinking it and facilitating mergers. We present a new formalism for the long-term evolution of the disk-binary interaction based on the results of recent suites of hydrodynamic simulations, which resolve the complex geometry of the gas in the vicinity of the binary and fully account for the gravitational and accretion forces. We release a python package, \texttt{spindler}, that implements our model. We show that, unless the mass reservoir feeding the disk is comparable to the mass of the binary, accretion onto the binary depletes the disk mass before inducing a significant change in orbital separation or mass ratio. This finding implies that, in most scenarios, interaction with a circumbinary disk is not an efficient mechanism to shrink the orbit of the binary. However, as long as the mass of the disk is at least a few percent of the mass of the binary, the interaction can excite the eccentricity up to an equilibrium value, and induce a statistical correlation between mass ratio and eccentricity. We consider the applicability of our model to a variety of astrophysical scenarios: during star formation, in evolved stellar binaries, triples and in supermassive black hole binaries. We discuss the theoretical and observational implications of our predictions.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Disk induced binary precession: Implications for dynamics and multi-messenger observations of black hole binaries

Many studies have recently documented the orbital response of eccentric binaries accreting from thin circumbinary disks, characterizing the change in binary semi-major axis and eccentricity. We extend these calculations to include the precession of the binary's longitude of periapse induced by the circumbinary disk, and we characterize this precession continuously with binary eccentricity $e_b$ for equal mass components. This disk-induced apsidal precession is prograde with a weak dependence on binary eccentricity when $e_b \lesssim 0.4$ and decreases approximately linearly for $e_b \gtrsim 0.4$; yet at all $e_b$ binary precession is faster than the rates of change to the semi-major axis and eccentricity by an order of magnitude. We estimate that such precession effects are likely most important for sub-parsec separated binaries with masses $\lesssim 10^7 M_\odot$, like LISA precursors. We find that accreting, equal-mass LISA binaries with $M < 10^6 M_\odot$ (and the most massive $M \sim 10^7 M_\odot$ binaries out to $z \sim 3$) may acquire a detectable phase offset due to the disk-induced precession. Moreover, disk-induced precession can compete with General Relativistic precession in vacuum, making it important for observer-dependent electromagnetic searches for accreting massive binaries -- like Doppler boost and binary self-lensing models -- after potentially only a few orbital periods.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Eccentric Binaries in Retrograde Disks

Modern numerical hydrodynamics tools have recently enabled detailed examinations of binaries accreting from prograde circumbinary disks. These have re-framed the current understanding of binary-disk interactions and disk driven orbital evolution. We present the first full-domain grid-based hydrodynamics simulations of equal-mass, eccentric binaries accreting from retrograde circumbinary disks. We study binary eccentricities that span $e=0.0$ to $e = 0.8$ continuously, and explore the influence of retrograde accretion on the binary orbital response, disk morphology, and observational properties. We find that, at all eccentricities, retrograde accretion shrinks the binary semi-major axis and pumps its eccentricity leading to the previously identified possibility of highly eccentric mergers. Contrary to past studies and models, we observe gravitational forces to dominate the binary's orbital evolution as opposed to the physical accretion of mass and momentum. Retrograde accretion variability also differs strongly from prograde solutions. Preeminently, binaries with $e > 0.55$ reveal a unique two-period, double-peaked accretion signature that has not previously been identified. We additionally find evidence for the emergence of retrograde Lindblad resonances at large eccentricities in accordance with predictions from linear theory. Our results suggest that some astrophysical binaries for which retrograde accretion is possible will experience factors-of-a-few times faster orbital decay than in prograde disks and will have their eccentricities pumped beyond the limits found from prograde solutions. Such effects could lead to rapid inward migration for some young stellar binaries, the detection of highly-eccentric LISA mergers, and the tentatively observed turnover at the low-frequency end of the gravitational wave background.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

How Binaries Accrete: Hydrodynamic Simulations with Passive Tracer Particles

Linear analysis of gas flows around orbiting binaries suggests that a centrifugal barrier ought to clear a low-density cavity around the binary and inhibit mass transfer onto it. Modern hydrodynamics simulations have confirmed the low-density cavity, but show that any mass flowing from large scales into the circumbinary disk is eventually transferred onto the binary components. Even though many numerical studies confirm this picture, it is still not understood precisely how gas parcels overcome the centrifugal barrier and ultimately accrete. We present a detailed analysis of the binary accretion process, using an accurate prescription for evolving grid-based hydrodynamics with Lagrangian tracer particles that track the trajectories of individual gas parcels. We find that binary accretion can be described in four phases: (1) gas is viscously transported through the circumbinary disk up to the centrifugal barrier at the cavity wall, (2) the cavity wall is tidally distorted into accretion streams consisting of near-ballistic gas parcels on eccentric orbits, (3) the portion of each stream moving inwards of an ``accretion horizon'' radius $\bar r \simeq a$ -- the radius beyond which no material is returned to the cavity wall -- becomes bound to a minidisk orbiting an individual binary component, and (4) the minidisk gas accretes onto the binary component through the combined effect of viscous and tidal stresses.

astro-ph.GA↗