Extreme Mass-Ratio Inspirals in Active Galactic Nucleus Disks: The Role of Circumsingle Disks (2503.04042v1)

Abstract: In this work, we numerically explore the dynamics of a point mass (e.g., a stellar-mass black hole) moving within a thin accretion disk of a massive object (i.e., a supermassive black hole) with three dimensional hydrodynamical simulations using \texttt{Athena++}. We are particularly interested in the regime that the Hill radius of the point mass is greater than the disk thickness, but the point mass is not sufficiently massive to open a ``gap" in a high viscosity disk. This parameter regime may be seen for stellar-mass objects moving within thin accretion disks of massive black holes, but less studied for the planet migration scenario in protoplanetary disks. We find that the disk migration may be significantly slower than the type I migration, depending on the surface density gradient of the disk. Furthermore, the circumsingle disk around the point mass plays an important role in damping the orbital eccentricity. If the gravitational interaction between the point mass and circumsingle disk material is turned off, the orbital eccentricity may be pumped to $\mathcal{O}(10^{-2})$ level. Because space-borne gravitational wave detectors such as LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is able to measure the eccentricity of extreme mass-ratio inspirals to the level of $\mathcal{O}(10^{-5})$, this finding highlights the importance of understanding stellar-mass black hole feedback mechanisms which will modify the structures of the circumsingle disk, as they will impact LISA observables such as the eccentricity.