Revision 1

Accepted · first revision · record

Title: Why are tidal disruptions overrepresented in post-starburst galaxies?
Plain: Tidal disruptions happen unusually often in galaxies that stopped forming stars after a recent burst. These galaxies are rare, so something about them must send stars toward the central black hole.
Precise: Post-starburst (E+A) galaxies form well under 1 percent of galaxies but host a much larger share of optical TDEs, an enhancement of tens of times. Determine the cause: dense central stellar concentrations, radially anisotropic orbits after a merger, supermassive black hole binaries, or selection effects.
Settled by: Measured central stellar densities and orbit structure in TDE hosts compared with predicted disruption rates for each mechanism.
Kind: phenomenon
Answer type: mechanism
References: (empty)
Literature status: open
Status note: (empty)
Posed since: 2014