Existence of Dense Broad-Line-Region-Like Clouds in TDE Environments

Determine whether dense clouds comparable to the broad-line-region clouds invoked in TDE outflow–cloud interaction models exist in the environments of tidal disruption events, in order to assess the viability of efficient hadronuclear neutrino production in that scenario.

Background

The paper compares its circumnuclear-material interaction scenario with models in which TDE outflows collide with dense clouds associated with active-galactic-nucleus broad-line regions. Those clouds would provide sufficiently high target densities for accelerated cosmic rays to undergo efficient hadronuclear interactions.

Because TDEs generally occur in quiescent galaxies rather than active galaxies with established broad-line regions, the physical existence of such dense clouds in TDE environments remains unresolved. Establishing whether they occur is therefore necessary for evaluating the applicability of the outflow–cloud neutrino-production model.