  The rate of tidal disruption events (TDEs) depends sensitively on the stellar
properties of the central galactic regions. Simulations show that galaxy
mergers cause gas inflows, triggering nuclear starbursts, increasing the
central stellar density. Motivated by these numerical results, and by the
observed over-representation of post-starburst galaxies among TDE hosts, we
study the evolution of the TDE rate in high-resolution hydrodynamical
simulations of a galaxy merger, in which we capture the evolution of the
stellar density around the massive black holes (BHs). We apply analytical
estimates of the loss-cone theory, using the stellar density profiles from
simulations, to estimate the time evolution of the TDE rate. At the second
pericentre, a nuclear starburst enhances the stellar density around the BH in
the least massive galaxy, leading to an enhancement of the TDE rate around the
secondary BH, although the magnitude and the duration of the increase depend on
the stochasticity of star formation on very small scales. The central stellar
density around the primary BH remains instead fairly constant, and so is its
TDE rate. After the formation of the binary, the stellar density decreases, and
so does the TDE rate.
