Elevated Tidal Disruption Rates from the Formation of Eccentric Nuclear Disks

The anisotropic emission of gravitational waves during the merger of two supermassive black holes can result in a recoil kick of the merged remnant. We show here that eccentric nuclear disks — stellar disks of eccentric, apse-aligned orbits — can directly form as a result. An initially circular disk of stars will align orthogonal to the black hole kick direction with a distinctive “tick-mark” eccentricity distribution. We show that the tidal disruption rate in such an eccentric disk is significantly elevated compared to an isotropic distribution of stars with rates as high as 0.1–1 yr^-1 gal^-1.