Related papers: Donald Lynden-Bell: A Biographical Memoir
In galactic nuclei, the gravitational potential is dominated by the central supermassive black hole, so stars follow quasi-Keplerian orbits. These orbits are distorted by gravitational forces from other stars, leading to long-term orbital…
The black hole of an active galactic nucleus is encircled by an accretion disk. The surface density of the disk is always too low to affect the tidal disruption of a star, but it can be high enough that a vigorous interaction results when…
During a Hubble time, cluster galaxies may undergo several mutual encounters close enough to gravitationally perturb their hot, X-ray emitting gas flows. We ran several 2D, time dependent hydrodynamical models to investigate the effects of…
We compute the rates of capture of stars by supermassive black holes, using time-dependent Fokker--Planck equation with initial conditions that have a deficit of stars on low-angular-momentum orbits. One class of initial conditions has a…
We analyze stellar tidal disruption events as a possible observational signature of gravitational wave induced recoil of supermassive black holes. As a black hole wanders through its galaxy, it will tidally disrupt bound and unbound stars…
Kepler's observation of comets tails initiated the research on the radiation pressure of celestial objects and 250 years later they found new incarnation after the Maxwell's equations were formulated to describe a plethora of light-matter…
Galaxy mergers produce supermassive black hole binaries, which emit gravitational waves prior to their coalescence. We perform three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations to study the tidal disruption of stars by such a binary in the final…
In our current interpretation of the hierarchical structure of the universe it is well established that galaxies collide and merge with each other during their lifetime. If massive black holes (MBHs) reside in galactic centres, we expect…
We study the probability of close encounters between stars from a nuclear cluster and a massive black hole. The gravitational field of the system is dominated by the black hole in its sphere of influence. It is further modified by the…
Gravitational wave observations will probe non-linear gravitational interactions and thus enable strong tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity. We present a numerical relativity study of the late inspiral and merger of binary…
Understanding the predictions of general relativity for the dynamical interactions of two black holes has been a long-standing unsolved problem in theoretical physics. Black-hole mergers are monumental astrophysical events, releasing…
Multiwavelength flares from tidal disruption and accretion of stars can be used to find and study otherwise dormant massive black holes in galactic nuclei. Previous well-monitored candidate flares are short-lived, with most emission…
We argue that soft gravitational radiation leads to a misidentification of the angular momentum of stars seen in distant galaxies, and that this could be interpreted as an additional mass inside the orbit of the star. It is tempting to…
We develop an analytical model to follow the cosmological evolution of magnetic fields in disk galaxies. Our assumption is that fields are amplified from a small seed field via magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) turbulence. We further assume that…
The potential of tidal disruption of stars to probe otherwise quiescent supermassive black holes cannot be exploited, if their dynamics is not fully understood. So far, the observational appearance of these events has been derived from…
We study the evolution of disk galaxies within the frame of the cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies. The hydrodynamics of a centrifugally supported gaseous disk and the growth of a stellar disk are calculated in detail taking into account…
Electromagnetic observations over the last 15 years have yielded a growing appreciation for the importance of supermassive black holes (SMBH) to the evolution of galaxies, and for the intricacies of dynamical interactions in our own…
This review article summarizes two decades of laboratory research aimed at understanding the dynamics of accretion disks, with particular emphasis on magnetohydrodynamic experiments involving liquid metals and plasmas. First, the…
Stars in the immediate vicinity of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) can be ripped apart by the tidal forces of the black hole. The subsequent accretion of the stellar material causes a spectacular flare of electromagnetic radiation. Here,…
The current attempt is aimed to honor the first centennial of Johannes Diderik van der Waals (VDW) awarding Nobel Prize in Physics. The VDW theory of ordinary fluids is reviewed in the first part of the paper, where special effort is…