Related papers: Chaoticity in the vicinity of complex unstable per…
Boxy, peanut- or X-shaped "bulges" are observed in a large fraction of barred galaxies viewed in, or close to, edge-on projection, as well as in the Milky Way. They are the product of dynamical instabilities occurring in stellar bars, which…
The orbits of stars in galaxies are generically chaotic: the chaotic behavior arises in part from the intrinsically grainy nature of a potential that is composed of point masses. Even if the potential is assumed to be smooth, however,…
This paper constructs an analytic form for a triaxial potential that describes the dynamics of a wide variety of astrophysical systems, including the inner portions of dark matter halos, the central regions of galactic bulges, and young…
We introduce a class of convex, higher-dimensional billiard models which generalise stadium billiards. These models correspond to the free motion of a point-particle in a region bounded by cylinders cut by planes. They are motivated by…
In an effort to better understand the formation and evolution of barred galaxies, we have examined the properties of equatorial orbits in the effective potential of one model of a rapidly rotating, steady-state gas-dynamical bar that has…
We consider the evolution of the unstable periodic orbit structure of coupled chaotic systems. This involves the creation of a complicated set outside of the synchronization manifold (the emergent set). We quantitatively identify a critical…
Self-consistent N-body simulations are efficient tools to study galactic dynamics. However, using them to study individual trajectories (or ensembles) in detail can be challenging. Such orbital studies are important to shed light on global…
A 3D-dynamical model is constructed for the study of motion in the central regions of a disk galaxy with a double nucleus. Using the results of the 2D-model, we find the regions of initial conditions in the (x,px,z,py)=EJ, (y=pz=0) phase…
We investigate the orbital structure in a class of 3D models of barred galaxies. We consider different values of the pattern speed, of the strength of the bar and of the parameters of the central bulge of the galactic model. The morphology…
In this review, I discuss just three aspects of the stability and evolution of galactic discs. (1) I first review our understanding of the bar instability and how it can be controlled. Disc galaxies in which the orbital speed does not…
On timescales that greatly exceed an orbital period, typical planetary orbits evolve in a stochastic yet stable fashion. On even longer timescales, however, planetary orbits can spontaneously transition from bounded to unbound chaotic…
In a series of papers, we propose a theory to explain the formation and properties of rings and spirals in barred galaxies. The building blocks of these structures are orbits guided by the manifolds emanating from the unstable Lagrangian…
It is widely believed that resonant orbits play an important role in formation and evolution of bars and large-scale spirals in galaxy discs. These resonant orbits have been studied in a number of specific potentials, often with an imposed…
We study the orbital behavior at the neighborhood of complex unstable periodic orbits in a 3D autonomous Hamiltonian system of galactic type. At a transition of a family of periodic orbits from stability to complex instability (also known…
Dynamics of regular clusters of many non-touching particles falling under gravity in a viscous fluid at low Reynolds number are analysed within the point-particle model. Evolution of two families of particle configurations is determined: 2…
We show that non-chaotic multiply-periodic particle orbits can exist in a galaxy-like potential where a small fast-tumbling nuclear bar is nested inside a main bar which has a slower pattern speed. We introduce the concept of a loop: a…
Barred galaxies exhibit boxy/peanut or X-shapes (BP/X) protruding from their disks in edge-on views. Two types of BP/X morphologies exist depending on whether the X-wings meet at the center (CX) or are off-centered (OX). Orbital studies…
This paper focuses on symmetric potentials subjected to periodic driving. Four unperturbed potentials V_0(r) were considered, namely the Plummer potential and Dehnen potentials with \gamma=0.0, 0.5, and 1.0, each subjected to a…
The dynamics of chaotic billiards is significantly influenced by coexisting regions of regular motion. Here we investigate the prevalence of a different fundamental structure, which is formed by marginally unstable periodic orbits and…
It is often assumed that a warped galaxy can be modeled by a set of rings. This paper verifies numerically the validity of this assumption by the study of periodic orbits populating a heavy self-gravitating warped disk. The phase space…