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We recently derived, using the density-of-states approximation, analytic distribution functions for the outcomes of direct single-binary scatterings (Stone & Leigh 2019). Using these outcome distribution functions, we present in this paper…
We study galaxies that host both nuclear star clusters and active galactic nuclei (AGN) implying the presence of a massive black hole. We select a sample of 176 galaxies with previously detected nuclear star clusters that range from…
We develop a simple physical model to describe the dynamics of a massive point-like object, such as a black hole, near the center of a dense stellar system. It is shown that the total force on this body can be separated into two independent…
Mergers between stellar-mass black holes will be key sources of gravitational radiation for ground-based detectors. However, the rates of these events are highly uncertain, given that such systems are invisible. One formation scenario…
The centers of galaxies host a supermassive black hole surrounded by a dense stellar cluster. The cluster is expected to develop mass segregation, in which gravitational scatterings among the stars cause heavier objects to sink closer to…
We are using adaptive optics on Keck and the VLT to probe the dynamics and star formation in Seyfert and QSO nuclei, obtaining spatial resolutions better than 0.1" in the H- and K-bands. The dynamics are traced via the 2.12um H_2 1-0S(1)…
Over the last decade, HST imaging studies have revealed that the centers of most galaxies are occupied by compact, barely resolved sources. Based on their structural properties, position in the fundamental plane, and spectra, these sources…
The long-term evolution of stellar orbits bound to a massive centre is studied in order to understand the cores of star clusters in central regions of galaxies. Stellar trajectories undergo tiny perturbation, the origin of which is twofold:…
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…
By means of a particle model that includes interactions only via the local particle concentration, we show that hyperballistic diffusion may result. This is done by findng the exact solution of the corresponding non-linear diffusion…
We present preliminary results of the application of a new sophisticated code which allows high precision integration of orbits of stars belonging to a dense stellar system moving in the vicinity of a massive black hole. This mimics the…
We present parsec-scale kinematics of eleven nearby galactic nuclei, derived from adaptive-optics assisted integral-field spectroscopy at (near-infrared) CO band-head wavelengths. We focus our analysis on the balance between ordered…
We investigate the effects of relatively rapid variations of the boundaries of an overmoded cavity on the stochastic properties of its interior acoustic or electromagnetic field. For quasi-static variations, this field can be represented as…
Consider a system of point masses in a spherical potential. In such systems objects execute planar orbits covering two-dimensional rings or annuli, represented by the angular-momentum vectors, which slowly reorient due to the persistent…
We revisit the hypothesis that dense galactic nuclei are formed from inspiraling globular clusters. Recent advances in understanding of the continuous formation of globular clusters over cosmic time and the concurrent evolution of the…
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…
The origin of the Nuclear Star Cluster in the centre of our Galaxy is still unknown. One possibility is that it formed after the disruption of stellar clusters that spiralled into the Galactic Centre due to dynamical friction. We trace the…
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…
We present hydrodynamical N-body simulations of clusters of galaxies with feedback taken from semi-analytic models of galaxy formation. The advantage of this technique is that the source of feedback in our simulations is a population of…
A suggested model for quasi--periodic eruptions (QPEs) from galaxy nuclei invokes a white dwarf in an eccentric orbit about the central massive black hole. I point out that the extreme mass ratio allows the presence of strong Lindblad…