Tidal disruption events are now a well-established new class of nuclear transient, with samples of up to 50 TDEs now observed. With the next generation of wide-field time surveys on the horizon, most notably the NSF Vera Rubin Observatory LSST with first light in 2022, this is the opportunity to provide a "field guide" to the theory, observed properties, and practical search strategies for this exciting class of transient probes of massive black holes in the nuclei of dormant galaxies.
This book will act as a guide for understanding the properties and basic theory behind TDEs, with extensive references to the literature, but less of a focus on the story behind each TDE discovery, and more of a focus on their properties as a class. Interactive online tutorials will be included on using alert brokers to filter and search for TDEs from transient alert streams. There will also be a discussion of the future of the field, and how theory and observations can help advance our understanding of massive black hole demographics.
