Introduction to Stellar Dynamics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Ciotti
Keyword(s):  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-275
Author(s):  
Yury N. Razoumny ◽  
Sergei A. Kupreev

The controlled motion of a body in a central gravitational field without mass flow is considered. The possibility of moving the body in the radial direction from the center of attraction due to changes in the kinetic moment relative to the center of mass of the body is shown. A scheme for moving the body using a system of flywheels located in the same plane in near-circular orbits with different heights is proposed. The use of the spin of elementary particles is considered as flywheels. It is proved that using the spin of elementary particles with a Compton wavelength exceeding the distance to the attracting center is energetically more profitable than using the momentum of these particles to move the body. The calculation of motion using hypothetical particles (gravitons) is presented. A hypothesis has been put forward about the radiation of bodies during accelerated motion, which finds indirect confirmation in stellar dynamics and in an experiment with the fall of two bodies in a vacuum. The results can be used in experiments to search for elementary particles with low energy, explain cosmic phenomena and to develop transport objects on new physical principles.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 1054-1070
Author(s):  
Luca Ciotti ◽  
Antonio Mancino ◽  
Silvia Pellegrini ◽  
Azadeh Ziaee Lorzad

ABSTRACT Recently, two-component spherical galaxy models have been presented, where the stellar profile is described by a Jaffe law, and the total density by another Jaffe law, or by an r−3 law at large radii. We extend these two families to their ellipsoidal axisymmetric counterparts: the JJe and J3e models. The total and stellar density distributions can have different flattenings and scale lengths, and the dark matter halo is defined by difference. First, the analytical conditions required to have a nowhere negative dark matter halo density are derived. The Jeans equations for the stellar component are then solved analytically, in the limit of small flattenings, also in the presence of a central BH. The azimuthal velocity dispersion anisotropy is described by the Satoh k-decomposition. Finally, we present the analytical formulae for velocity fields near the centre and at large radii, together with the various terms entering the virial theorem. The JJe and J3e models can be useful in a number of theoretical applications, e.g. to explore the role of the various parameters (flattening, relative scale lengths, mass ratios, rotational support) in determining the behaviour of the stellar kinematical fields before performing more time-expensive integrations with specific galaxy models, to test codes of stellar dynamics and in numerical simulations of gas flows in galaxies.


1998 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 65-66
Author(s):  
Marc Freitag ◽  
Willy Benz

Massive but invisible black holes (BH) are often assumed to lurk in the center of many galaxies but definitive proof of their existence has not yet been established. However, in the surrounding stellar cluster stars are unavoidably being destroyed by tidal disruptions and stellar collisions liberating of order 1M⊙ in each event. The subsequent accretion of this gas by the BH could bring it back to “life” and reveal its presence.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (08) ◽  
pp. 2279-2283 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIERFRANCESCO DI CINTIO ◽  
LUCA CIOTTI

The process of relaxation of a system of particles interacting with long-range forces is relevant to many areas of physics. For obvious reasons, in Stellar Dynamics much attention has been paid to the case of r-2force law. However, recently the interest in alternative gravities has emerged, and significant differences with respect to Newtonian gravity have been found in relaxation phenomena. Here we begin to explore this matter further, by using a numerical model of spherical shells interacting with an r-αforce law obeying the superposition principle. We find that the virialization and phase-mixing times depend on the exponent α, with small values of α corresponding to longer relaxation times, similarly to what happens when comparing for N-body simulations in classical gravity and in Modified Newtonian Dynamics.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S267) ◽  
pp. 337-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda E. Strubbe ◽  
Eliot Quataert

A star that wanders too close to a massive black hole (BH) is shredded by the BH's tidal gravity. Stellar gas falls back to the BH, releasing a flare of energy. In anticipation of upcoming transient surveys, we predict the light curves and spectra of tidal flares as a function of time, highlighting the unique signatures of tidal flares in the optical and near-IR. Some of the gas initially bound to the BH is likely blown away when the fallback rate is super-Eddington at early times. This outflow produces an optical luminosity comparable to that of a supernova (Figure 1, left panel); such events have durations of ~ 10 days and may have been missed in supernova searches that exclude the nuclear regions of galaxies. When the fallback rate subsides below Eddington, the gas accretes onto the BH via a thin disk whose emission peaks in the UV to soft X-rays. Some of this emission is reprocessed by the unbound stellar debris, producing a spectrum of very broad emission lines, with no corresponding narrow forbidden lines (center panel). These lines are strongest for BHs with MBH ~ 105–106M⊙ and thus optical surveys are particularly sensitive to the lowest mass BHs in galactic nuclei. Calibrating our models to ROSAT and GALEX observations, we predict detection rates for Pan-STARRS, Palomar Transit Factory, and LSST (right panel) and highlight observational challenges in the optical. Pan-STARRS should detect at least several events per year — many more if current theoretical models of super-Eddington outflows are correct. These surveys will significantly improve our knowledge of stellar dynamics in galactic nuclei, the physics of super-Eddington accretion, the demography of intermediate mass BHs, and the role of tidal disruption in the growth of massive BHs.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S270) ◽  
pp. 151-158
Author(s):  
Ralph E. Pudritz

AbstractWe review computational approaches to understanding the origin of the Initial Mass Function (IMF) during the formation of star clusters. We examine the role of turbulence, gravity and accretion, equations of state, and magnetic fields in producing the distribution of core masses - the Core Mass Function (CMF). Observations show that the CMF is similar in form to the IMF. We focus on feedback processes such as stellar dynamics, radiation, and outflows can reduce the accreted mass to give rise to the IMF. Numerical work suggests that filamentary accretion may play a key role in the origin of the IMF.


2021 ◽  
Vol 507 (4) ◽  
pp. 4840-4851
Author(s):  
John Magorrian

ABSTRACT We use the problem of dynamical friction within the periodic cube to illustrate the application of perturbation theory in stellar dynamics, testing its predictions against measurements from N-body simulations. Our development is based on the explicitly time-dependent Volterra integral equation for the cube’s linear response, which avoids the subtleties encountered in analyses based on complex frequency. We obtain an expression for the self-consistent response of the cube to steady stirring by an external perturber. From this, we show how to obtain the familiar Chandrasekhar dynamical friction formula and construct an elementary derivation of the Lenard–Balescu equation for the secular quasi-linear evolution of an isolated cube composed of N equal-mass stars. We present an alternative expression for the (real-frequency) van Kampen modes of the cube and show explicitly how to decompose any linear perturbation of the cube into a superposition of such modes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document