Angular momentum transfer in QPEs from galaxy nuclei

Abstract

ABSTRACT A suggested model for quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) from galaxy nuclei invokes a white dwarf in an eccentric orbit about the central massive black hole. I point out that the extreme mass ratio allows the presence of strong Lindblad resonances in the accretion disc. These are important for the stability of mass transfer and may trigger the eruptions themselves by rapidly transferring angular momentum from the accretion disc (which is likely to be eccentric itself) to the orbiting WD companion at pericentre. I consider the effects of von Zeipel–Lidov–Kozai (ZLK) cycles caused by a perturber on a more distant orbit about the central black hole. I show that ZLK cycles can change the orbital periods of QPE systems on time-scales much shorter than the mass transfer time, as seen in ASASSN-14ko, and produce correlated short-term variations of their mass transfer rates and orbital periods, as recently observed in GSN 069. Further monitoring of these sources should constrain the parameters of any perturbing companions. This, in turn, may constrain the nature of the events creating QPE systems and perhaps give major insights into how the central black holes in low-mass galaxies are able to grow.