On the Tidally Induced Gravitational Collapse of a Particle Cluster

An important issue in the dynamics of neutron star binaries is whether tidal interaction can cause the individual stars to collapse into black holes during inspiral. To understand this issue better, we study the dynamics of a cluster of collisionless particles orbiting a non-rotating black hole, which is part of a widely separated circular binary. The companion body's electric- and magnetic-type tidal fields distort the black hole and perturb the cluster, eventually causing the cluster to collapse into the hole as the companion spirals in under the influence of gravitational radiation reaction. We find that magnetic-type tidal forces do not significantly influence the evolution of the cluster as a whole. However, individual orbits can be strongly affected by these forces. For example, some orbits are destabilized due to the addition of magnetic-type tidal forces. We find that the most stable orbits are close to the companion's orbital plane and retrograde with respect to the companion's orbit.