Wednesday, March 10, 2010

[bemlmqhi] Neutron star versus black hole

Considering a body as incredibly tightly gravitationally bound as a neutron star (violent flares might erupt as high as 1 cm), it is staggering that it's still possible to tear it completely apart: the tidal forces of a black hole.

Inspired by the unrealistic Youtube video.  The objects should be orbiting around a common center of mass.

Are the tidal forces in neutron star mergers sufficient to tear them apart?  What deformation do the stars undergo moments before merging?  (There's another Youtube video.)

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