Related papers: When Should We Treat Galaxies as Isolated?
How do galaxies form and evolve? This is one of the most puzzling questions in astronomy. Galaxy assembly takes place throughout the entire history of the Universe, but our understanding of it is hampered by the unfortunate fact that we can…
We investigate the properties and evolution of star particles in two simulations of isolated spiral galaxies, and two galaxies from cosmological simulations. Unlike previous numerical work, where typically each star particle represents one…
In the two-phase scenario of galaxy formation, a galaxy's stellar mass growth is first dominated by in-situ star formation, and subsequently by accretion. We analyse the radial distribution of the accreted stellar mass in ~500 galaxies from…
The formation and evolution of disk galaxies in the cosmological context is studied. We consider the observable properties of disk galaxies and treat the disk formation and galactic evolutionary processes in a self-consistent fashion. We…
We combine a semi-analytic model of galaxy evolution with constraints on circumstellar habitable zones and the distribution of terrestrial planets to probe the suitability of galaxies of different mass and type to host habitable planets,…
We present our recent results on the properties of the outskirts of disk galaxies. In particular, we focus on spiral galaxies with stellar disk truncations in their radial surface brightness profiles. Using SDSS, UDF and GOODS data we show…
We probe the evolution of globular clusters that could form in giant molecular clouds within high-redshift galaxies. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the large and dense enough gas clouds assemble naturally in current hierarchical…
This paper presents a review of the topic of galaxy formation and evolution, focusing on basic features of galaxies, and how these observables reveal how galaxies and their stars assemble over cosmic time. I give an overview of the observed…
By combining new long-slit spectral data obtained with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) for 9 galaxies with previously published our observations for additional 12 galaxies we study the stellar and gaseous kinematics as well as…
We have carried out a joint photometric and structural analysis of red sequence galaxies in four clusters at a mean redshift of z ~ 1.25 using optical and near-IR HST imaging reaching to at least 3 magnitudes fainter than $M^*$. As…
Recent observational and theoretical studies have suggested that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) grow mostly through non-merger (`secular') processes. Since galaxy mergers lead to dynamical bulge growth, the only way to observationally…
We study a series of $N-$body simulations representing elliptical galaxies with central masses. Starting from two different systems with smooth centres, which have initially a triaxial configuration and are in equilibrium, we insert to them…
It is not well understood whether the growth of early-type cluster galaxies proceeds inside-out, outside-in, or at the same pace at all radii. In this work we measured the galaxy size, defined by the radius including 80\% of the galaxy…
The Lagrange planetary equations are used to study to secular evolution of a small, eccentric satellite that orbits within a narrow gap in a broad, self-gravitating planetary ring. These equations show that the satellite's secular…
Globular clusters contain a finite number of stars. As a result, they inevitably undergo secular evolution (`relaxation') causing their mean distribution function (DF) to evolve on long timescales. On one hand, this long-term evolution may…
This thesis investigates the evolution of galaxies in diverse environments, utilizing Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data to explore the impact of environmental richness on central and satellite galaxies across stellar mass ranges,…
Self-similar evolution is widely used in the theory of collisional stellar dynamics, but its applicability to systems with multiple stellar masses is not well established. We investigate the structural stability of self-similar evolution in…
In the solar-neighbourhood, older stars have larger random velocities than younger ones. It is argued that the increase in velocity dispersion with time is predominantly a gradual process rather than one induced by discrete events such as…
I review recent progress from $N$-body simulations in our understanding of the secular evolution of isolated disk galaxies. I describe some of the recent controversies in the field which have been commonly attributed to numerics. The…
Nuclear stellar clusters are common in the center of galaxies. We consider the possibility that their progenitors assumed to be globular clusters may have formed elsewhere, migrated to and assembled near their present location. The main…