Related papers: Exponential Galaxy Disks from Stellar Scattering
The discovery of over 400 extrasolar planets allows us to statistically test our understanding of formation and dynamics of planetary systems via numerical simulations. Traditional N-body simulations of multiple-planet systems without gas…
When density fluctuations collapse gravitationally out of the expanding cosmological background universe to form galaxies, the secondary energy release which results can affect their subsequent evolution profoundly. We focus here on the…
When a galaxy forms, the disk may initially be tilted with respect to a flattened dark halo. The misalignment between the disk and the halo is a common explanation for galactic disk warps, since in this state, disks have precessing bending…
Galactic center black holes appear to be nearly universally surrounded by dense stellar clusters. When these black holes go through an active accretion phase, the multiple components of the accretion disk, stellar cluster, and black hole…
We use simulations to study the growth of a pseudobulge in an isolated thin exponential stellar disc embedded in a static spherical halo. We observe a transition from later to earlier morphological types and an increase in bar prominence…
The presence of young massive stars orbiting on eccentric rings within a few tenths of a parsec of the supermassive black hole in the Galactic centre is challenging for theories of star formation. The high tidal shear from the black hole…
It is shown that the violent relaxation of dissipationless stellar systems leads to universal de Vaucouleurs profiles only outside 1.5 effective radii $R_e$. Inside $1.5 R_e$ the surface density profiles depend strongly on the initial…
We report the first results of a detailed study of the star formation law in a sample of 32 nearby spiral galaxies with well-measured rotation curves, HI and H$_2$ (as traced by CO) surface density profiles, and new \Ha CCD photometry. Our…
The recent identification of one or two sub-parsec disks of young, massive stars orbiting the ~4e6 solar mass black hole Sgr A* has prompted an "in-situ" scenario for star formation in disks of gas formed from a cloud captured from the…
To interpret observations of astrophysical disks it is essential to understand the formation process of the emitted light. If the disk is optically thick, scattering dominated and permeated by a Keplerian velocity field, Non-Local…
We have used the EFAR sample of galaxies to study the light distributions of early-type galaxies. We decompose the 2D light distribution of the galaxies in a flattened spheroidal component with a Sersic radial light profile and an inclined…
We report here the first evidence for stellar disk truncation at high redshift, based on surface photometry of a sample of 16 high redshift (0.6 < z < 1.0) disk galaxies from the GOODS HST/ACS data. The radial profiles are best fit by a…
Newly formed stars are often observed to possess circumstellar disks, from which mass continues to be accreted onto the star and fed into outflowing jets, and which eventually may evolve into dusty debris disks and planetary systems. Recent…
(Abridged) In planetary systems with two or more giant planets, dynamical instabilities can lead to collisions or ejections through strong planet--planet scattering. Previous studies for simple initial configurations with two equal-mass…
In this paper we adopt a chemical evolution model, which is an improved version of the Chiappini, Matteucci and Gratton (1997) model, assuming two main accretion episodes for the formation of the Galaxy. The present model takes into account…
We examine the growth of eccentricities of a population of particles with initially circular orbits around a central massive body. Successive encounters between pairs of particles increase the eccentricities in the disk on average. As long…
We present accurate models of the gravitational potential produced by a radially exponential disk mass distribution. The models are produced by combining three separate Miyamoto-Nagai disks. Such models have been used previously to model…
We present a new mechanism of generating large planetary eccentricities. This mechanism applies to planets within the inner cavities of their companion protoplanetary disks. A massive disk with an inner truncation may become eccentric due…
Galaxy disks evolve through angular momentum transfers between sub-components, like gas, stars, or dark matter halos, through non axi-symmetric instabilities. The speed of this evolution is boosted in presence of a large fraction of cold…
Spirals in galaxies have long been thought to be caused by gravitational instability in the stellar component of the disk, but discerning the precise mechanism had proved elusive. Tidal interactions, and perhaps bars, may provoke some…