Hydrodynamic Drag on a Compact Star Orbiting a Supermassive Black Hole

The proposed Laser Interferometer Space Antenna is expected to detect gravitational waves from neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes spiraling into supermassive black holes in distant galactic nuclei. Analysis of the inspiral events will require careful comparison of the observed signals with theoretical waveform templates. The comparison could be seriously compromised if non-gravitational torques modify the orbit of the star. This paper estimates the torque exerted on an orbiting star as a result of hydrodynamic interactions with an accretion flow around the supermassive black hole. It is argued that the majority of inspiral events will take place in low luminosity galactic nuclei in which the mass accretion rate is low and the accretion occurs via an advection-dominated flow. The hydrodynamic torque is negligibly small in such systems and will have no effect on gravitational wave experiments. Subject headings: Accretion, accretion disks — black hole physics — gravitation — relativity — galaxies: nuclei — gravitational waves