Spin-Orbit Alignment: Interactions between a Pre-Main Sequence Star and a Binary Black Hole
Persistent URL
Author(s)
Vanderzyden, Hans
Date Issued
April 23, 2025
Abstract
Main sequence stars are the most common type of star in the universe. Pre-main sequence stars are the precursors to main sequence stars, making their evolution crucial to study. Binary black holes are far less common, but the gravitational wave signals produced by them allow us to learn about these mysterious bodies. When stars interact with black holes, stellar mass can be stripped onto the black hole in an accretion disk, which alters the mass and spin of the black hole. These changes alter the magnitude of the gravitational wave signals detected from Earth. The most abundant collection of stars is globular clusters, where tens to hundreds of thousands of stars are housed. This project aims to analyze many different orbital geometries of a 9.6 M⊙ main sequence star interacting with a 57 M⊙ binary black hole by studying its effects on spin using the dimensionless spin parameter 𝜒eff and alterations in the binary black hole merger time after an interaction. Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory data suggests that such dynamical interactions will produce a 𝜒eff distribution centered around small but positive values rather than a possibly expected random distribution centered around 𝜒eff=0. This study, with the help of the smoothed-particle hydrodynamics code StarSmasher, provides evidence to support this claim, with all cases ending with positive 𝜒eff.
Major
Physics
Honors
Physics, 2025
First Reader(s)
Lombardi, James C., Jr. (Jamie)
Other Reader(s)
Poynor, Adelé N.
Department
Physics
Type of Publication
Senior Project Paper
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Name
vanderzyden_comp.pdf
Size
2.92 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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