Related papers: Hypervelocity A & B Stars should be slow rotators
Several stars detected moving at velocities near to or exceeding the Galactic escape speed likely originated in the Milky Way disc. We quantitatively explore the `binary supernova scenario' hypothesis, wherein these `hyper-runaway' stars…
Various scenarios have been proposed to explain the origin of the Galactic high-velocity clouds, predicting different distances and implying widely varying properties for the Galaxy's gaseous halo. To eliminate the difficulties of studying…
We present the results of the first systematic search for spectroscopic binaries within the central 2 x 3 arcsec$^2$ around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This survey is based primarily on over a decade…
The center of our galaxy is home to a massive black hole, SgrA*, and a nuclear star cluster containing stellar populations of various ages. While the late type stars may be too old to have retained memory of their initial orbital…
We measure the orbital properties of halo stars using 7-dimensional information provided by Gaia and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. A metal-rich population of stars, present in both local main sequence stars and more distant blue horizontal…
We show that dissipationless LCDM simulations predict that the majority of the most massive subhaloes of the Milky Way are too dense to host any of its bright satellites (L_V > 10^5 L_sun). These dark subhaloes have circular velocities at…
The late infall of cold dark matter onto our galaxy produces discrete flows and caustics in its halo. The recently discovered ring of stars near galactocentric distance 20 kpc and a series of sharp rises in the Milky Way rotation curve are…
In galactic centers, stars and binaries can be injected into low-angular-momentum orbits, resulting in close encounters with the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). Previous works have shown that under different conditions, such close…
We analyze the dynamical evolution of binary stars that interact with a static background of single stars in the environment of a massive black hole (MBH). All stars are considered to be single mass, Newtonian point particles. We follow the…
The young stars near the supermassive black hole at the galactic center follow orbits that are nearly random in orientation and that have an approximately thermal distribution of eccentricities, N(e) ~ e. We show that both of these…
We consider the possible existence of a common channel of evolution of binary systems, which results in a gamma-ray burst during the formation of a black hole or the birth of a magnetar during the formation of a neutron star. We assume that…
The observed star formation rate of the Milky Way can be explained by applying a metallicity-dependent factor to convert CO luminosity to molecular gas mass and a star formation efficiency per free-fall time that depends on the virial…
The location of B supergiants in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD) represents a long-standing problem in massive star evolution. Here we propose their nature may be revealed utilising their rotational properties, and we highlight a…
Observational evidence has continued to mount that a significant fraction of rapidly rotating early-B type stars are products of binary mass transfer. However, very few mid- and late-type B stars with rapid rotation have been demonstrated…
A short overview is presented of current issues concerning the production and evolution of Li, Be and B in the Milky Way. It is argued that the currently popular idea that Galactic cosmic rays are accelerated inside metal-rich superbubbles…
The distribution of stars around a massive black hole (MBH) has been addressed in stellar dynamics for the last four decades by a number of authors. Because of its proximity, the centre of the Milky Way is the only observational test case…
Our Galaxy hosts a very massive object at its centre, often referred to as the supermassive black hole Sgr A*. Its gravitational tidal field is so intense that can strip apart a binary star passing its vicinity and accelerate one of the…
We present evidence for the contribution of high-mass globular clusters to the stellar halo of the Galaxy. Using SDSS-II/SEGUE spectra of over 1900 G- and K-type halo giants, we identify for the first time a subset of stars with CN…
Hyper-velocity stars (HVS) are enigmatic objects because they are travelling so fast that they escape from the Galaxy. Among hot subdwarfs, only one such star is known, the He-sdO US 708. The Hyper-MUCHFUSS collaboration provided additional…
In recent years several hypervelocity stars (HVSs) have been observed in the halo of our Galaxy. Such HVSs have possibly been ejected from the Galactic center and then propagated in the Galactic potential up to their current position. The…