Abstract
Stars in galactic nuclei can be captured or tidally disrupted by a central black hole. Some debris would be ejected at high speed', the remainder would be swallowed by the hole, causing a bright flare lasting at most a few years. Such phenomena are compatible with the presence of 106–108 M⊙ holes in the nuclei of many nearby galaxies. Stellar disruption may have interesting consequences in our own Galactic Centre if a ∼106 M⊙ hole lurks there.
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Rees, M. Tidal disruption of stars by black holes of 106–108 solar masses in nearby galaxies. Nature 333, 523–528 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333523a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/333523a0
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