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We present N-body simulations, including post-Newtonian dynamics, of dense clusters of low-mass stars harbouring central black holes (BHs) with initial masses of 50, 300, and 2000 M⊙. The models are evolved with the N-body code bifrost to investigate the possible formation and growth of massive BHs by the tidal capture of stars and tidal disruption events (TDEs). We model star–BH tidal interactions using a velocity-dependent drag force, which causes orbital energy and angular momentum loss near the BH. About ∼20–30 per cent of the stars within the spheres of influence of the black holes form Bahcall–Wolf cusps and prevent the systems from core collapse. Within the first 40 Myr of evolution, the systems experience 500–1300 TDEs, depending on the initial cluster structure. Most (>95 per cent) of the TDEs originate from stars in the Bahcall–Wolf cusp. We derive an analytical formula for the TDE rate as a function of the central BH mass, density, and velocity dispersion of the clusters (N˙TDE∝MBHρσ−3). We find that TDEs can lead a 300 M⊙ BH to reach ∼7000M⊙ within a Gyr. This indicates that TDEs can drive the formation and growth of massive BHs in sufficiently dense environments, which might be present in the central regions of nuclear star clusters.
The cosmic origin of the elements, the fundamental chemical building blocks of the universe, is still uncertain. Binary interactions play a key role in the evolution of many massive stars, yet their impact on chemical yields is poorly understood. Using the MESA stellar evolution code, we predict the chemical yields ejected in wind mass loss and the supernovae of single and binary-stripped stars. We do this with a large 162-isotope nuclear network at solar metallicity. We find that binary-stripped stars are more effective producers of the elements than single stars, due to their increased mass loss and an increased chance to eject their envelopes during a supernova. This increased production by binaries varies across the periodic table, with F and K being more significantly produced by binary-stripped stars than single stars. We find that the 12C/13C could be used as an indicator of the conservativeness of mass transfer, as 13C is preferentially ejected during mass transfer while 12C is preferentially ejected during wind mass loss. We identify a number of gamma-ray-emitting radioactive isotopes that may be used to help constrain progenitor and explosion models of core-collapse supernovae with next-generation gamma-ray detectors. For single stars we find that 44V and 52Mn are strong probes of the explosion model, while for binary-stripped stars it is 48Cr. Our findings highlight that binary-stripped stars are not equivalent to two single stars and that detailed stellar modeling is needed to predict their final nucleosynthetic yields.
