Related papers: Photometry and Kinematics of Self-Gravitating Ecce…
It is strongly believed that Andromeda's double nucleus signals a disk of stars revolving around its central super-massive black hole on eccentric Keplerian orbits with nearly aligned apsides. A self-consistent stellar dynamical origin for…
Recently, observations with the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed small stellar discs embedded in the nuclei of a number of ellipticals and S0s. In this paper we construct two-integral axisymmetric models for such systems. We calculate…
We present a method for constructing models of weakly self-gravitating, finite dispersion eccentric stellar disks around central black holes. The disk is stationary in a frame rotating at a constant precession speed. The stars populate…
Hubble Space Telescope images of two early-type galaxies harboring both nuclear and outer stellar discs are studied in detail. By means of a photometric decomposition, the images of NGC 4342 and NGC 4570 are analyzed and the photometric…
We construct dynamical models of the ``double'' nucleus of M31 in which the nucleus consists of an eccentric disk of stars orbiting a central black hole. The principal approximation in these models is that the disk stars travel in a Kepler…
Galactic nuclei, the densest stellar environments in the Universe, exhibit a complex geometrical structure. The stars orbiting the central supermassive black hole follow a mass segregated distribution both in the radial distance from the…
Eccentric nuclear disks (ENDs) are a type of star cluster in which the stars lie on eccentric, apsidally-aligned orbits in a disk around a central supermassive black hole (SMBH). These disks can produce a high rate of tidal disruption…
The nucleus of M31 may be a thick eccentric disk, composed of stars traveling on nearly Keplerian orbits around a black hole or other dark compact object. This hypothesis reproduces most of the features seen in HST photometry of the center…
We present new dynamical models of weakly self-gravitating, finite dispersion eccentric stellar disks around central black holes for the double nucleus of M31. The disk is fixed in a frame rotating at constant precession speed, and is…
The anisotropic emission of gravitational waves during the merger of two supermassive black holes can result in a recoil kick of the merged remnant. We show here that eccentric nuclear disks - stellar disks of eccentric, apse-aligned orbits…
Sub-arcsecond imagery (HRCAM, 0".35 - 0".57 FWHM) and two-dimensional spectrography (TIGER, 0".9 FWHM) of the central nucleus of M31 have been obtained at CFHT. The photometric data clearly show the double-peaked nucleus, in excellent…
The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment has measured the stellar velocities of red giant stars in the inner Milky Way. We confirm that the line of sight velocity distributions (LOSVDs) in the mid-plane exhibit a second…
We obtained adaptive-optics assisted SINFONI observations of the central regions of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC5419 with a spatial resolution of 0.2 arcsec ($\approx 55$ pc). NGC5419 has a large depleted stellar core with a radius of…
The nucleus of our nearest, large galactic neighbor, M31, contains an eccentric nuclear disk--a disk of stars on eccentric, apsidally-aligned orbits around a supermassive black hole (SMBH). Previous studies of eccentric nuclear disks…
We argue that if ultrahigh-energy (E > 10^10 GeV) cosmic rays are heavy nuclei (as indicated by existing data), then the pointing of cosmic rays to their nearest extragalactic sources is expected for 10^10.6 < E/GeV < 10^11. This is because…
We explore the dynamics of stellar discs in the close vicinity of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) by means of direct $N$-body simulations. We show that an isolated nuclear stellar disc exhibits anisotropic mass segregation meaning that…
Small and bright stellar disks with scale lengths of few tens of parsec are known to reside in the center of galaxies. They are believed to have formed in a dissipational process as the end result of star formation in gas either accreted in…
We consider photon emission from a supercritical accretion disk in which photons in the inner regions are trapped and advected in towards the center. Such disks are believed to be present in failed supernovae and gamma-ray bursts, and…
Several observational studies and numerical simulations suggest that mergers must contribute to the evolution of galaxies; however, the role that they play is not yet fully understood. In this paper we study a sample of 52 double nucleus…
We used the near infrared spectrometer ISAAC at the ESO 'Very Large Telescope' to map the velocity field of Centaurus A (NGC 5128) at several position angles and locations in the central 20" of the galaxy. The high spatial resolution…