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    "story_id": "mp-2026-08-20-007",
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    "headline": "Cooling Gas Made the Shredded Star Spread",
    "slug": "cooling-gas-made-the-shredded-star-spread",
    "dek": "Three-dimensional simulations found recombination could widen near-parabolic tidal debris to roughly 30 stellar radii.",
    "summary": "Three-dimensional simulations found recombination could widen near-parabolic tidal debris to roughly 30 stellar radii.",
    "body_text": "As a disrupted star’s stream cools, hydrogen recombination and molecular formation return heat to the gas. Simulations with a realistic equation of state find that this added energy ends self-gravitational confinement before bound debris reaches apocenter and expands the stream by factors from a few to a few tens. The work supplies improved initial conditions for later emission models; it is not a direct observation of one tidal disruption event.",
    "why_it_matters": "Three-dimensional simulations found recombination could widen near-parabolic tidal debris to roughly 30 stellar radii.",
    "limitations": [
      "The work supplies improved initial conditions for later emission models; it is not a direct observation of one tidal disruption event."
    ],
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    "first_published_at": "2026-08-20T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-08-20T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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        "qualification": "The work supplies improved initial conditions for later emission models; it is not a direct observation of one tidal disruption event."
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    "tags": [
      "tidal disruption events",
      "hydrodynamics",
      "recombination"
    ],
    "image_url": null,
    "corrections": []
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  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-08-20-007",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2608.18201",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.18201",
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      "published_at": "2026-08-17T20:00:00.000-04:00",
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  "cite_this_report": {
    "title": "Cooling Gas Made the Shredded Star Spread",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-08-20T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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