Superbox - An Efficient Code for Collisionless Galactic Dynamics
Abstract
We present Superbox, a particle-mesh code with high resolution sub-grids and an NGP (nearest grid point) force-calculation scheme based on the second derivatives of the potential. Superbox implements a fast low-storage FFT-algorithm, giving the possibility to work with millions of particles on desk-top computers. Test calculations show energy and angular momentum conservation to one part in 10^5 per crossing-time. The effects of grid and numerical relaxation remain negligible, even when these calculations cover a Hubble-time of evolution. As the sub-grids follow the trajectories of individual galaxies, the code allows a highly resolved treatment of interactions in clusters of galaxies, such as high-velocity encounters between elliptical galaxies and the tidal disruption of dwarf galaxies. Excellent agreement is obtained in a comparison with a direct-summation N-body code running on special-purpose Grape3 hardware. The orbital decay of satellite galaxies due to dynamical friction obtained with Superbox agrees with Chandrasekhar's treatment when the Coulomb logarithm is approximately 1.5.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0007226,
title = {Superbox - An Efficient Code for Collisionless Galactic Dynamics},
author = {M. Fellhauer and P. Kroupa and H. Baumgart and R. Bien and C. M. Boily and R. Spurzem and N. Wassmer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0007226},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
NewA, in press (33 pages, 16 figs, LaTeX)