Related papers: Mapping the Galactic centre's dark cluster via Res…
We present results from dynamical Monte Carlo simulations of dense star clusters near the Galactic center. These clusters sink toward the center of the Galaxy by dynamical friction. During their inspiral, they may undergo core collapse and…
The center of our Galaxy is known to host a massive compact object, Sgr A$^*$, which is commonly considered as a super-massive black hole of $\sim 4\times 10^6$ M$_\odot$. It is surrounded by a dense and massive nuclear star cluster, with a…
The supermassive black hole at the Galactic center harbors a bound cluster of massive stars that should leave neutron-star remnants. Extrapolating from the available data, we estimate that 100-1000 radio pulsars may presently orbit Sgr A*…
The nuclear star cluster surrounding the massive black hole at the Galactic Centre consists of young and old stars, with most of the stellar mass in an extended, cuspy distribution of old stars. The compact cluster of young stars was…
The evidence for the presence of a concentration of dark matter at the Galactic center is now very compelling. There is no question that the stellar and gas kinematics within 0.01 pc is dominated by under-luminous matter in the form of…
We analyze deep near-IR adaptive optics imaging as well as new proper motion data of the nuclear star cluster of the Milky Way. The surface density distribution of faint stars peaks within 0.2" of the black hole candidate SgrA*. The radial…
Resonant relaxation has been discussed as an efficient process that changes the angular momenta of stars orbiting around a central supermassive black hole due to the fluctuating gravitational field of the stellar cluster. Other spherical…
Gravitational torques among objects orbiting a supermassive black hole drive the rapid reorientation of orbital planes in nuclear star clusters (NSCs), a process known as vector resonant relaxation. In this Letter, we determine the…
Vector resonant relaxation (VRR) is known to be the fastest gravitational process that shapes the geometry of stellar orbits in nuclear star clusters. This leads to the realignment of the orbital planes on the corresponding VRR time scale…
The study of how stars distribute themselves around a massive black hole (MBH) in the center of a galaxy is an important prerequisite for the understanding of many galactic-center processes. These include the observed overabundance of point…
Supermassive black holes have been discovered at the centers of galaxies, and also in globular clusters. The data shows correlations between the black hole mass and the elliptical galaxy mass or globular cluster mass. It is shown that this…
The measurement of relativistic effects around the galactic center may allow in the near future to strongly constrain the parameters of the supermassive black hole likely present at the galactic center (Sgr A*). As a by-product of these…
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 S-star cluster in the Galactic center allows us to study the physics close to a supermassive black hole, including distinctive dynamical tests of general relativity. Our best estimates for the mass of and the distance to Sgr A* using…
We show that moderate energy relaxation in the formation of dark matter halos invariably leads to profiles that match those observed in the central regions of galaxies. The density profile of the central region is universal and insensitive…
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 argue that resonant friction has a dramatic effect on a disc whose rotation direction is misaligned with that of its host nuclear star cluster. The disc's gravity causes gravitational perturbation of the cluster that in turn exerts a…
Rich and massive clusters of galaxies at intermediate redshift are capable of magnifying and distorting the images of background galaxies. A comparison of different mass estimators among these clusters can provide useful information about…
We investigate the internal dynamics of anisotropic, rotating globular clusters with a multimass stellar population by performing new direct N-body simulations. In addition to the well-known radial mass segregation effect, where heavy stars…
The massive Galactic black hole and the stars around it are a unique laboratory for studying how relaxation processes lead to close interactions of stars and compact remnants with the central massive black hole, in particular those leading…