Related papers: Multiple-scale gas infall through gravity torques …
Longitude-velocity (l-V) diagrams of H I and CO gas in the inner Milky Way have long been known to be inconsistent with circular motion in an axisymmetric potential. Several lines of evidence suggest that the Galaxy is barred, and gas flow…
We present analytic calculations of angular momentum transport and gas inflow in galaxies, from scales of ~kpc to deep in the potential of a central black hole (BH). We compare these analytic calculations to numerical simulations and use…
The transport of gas towards the centre of galaxies is critical for black hole feeding and, indirectly, it can control active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback. We have quantified the molecular gas inflow in the central R<1kpc of M51 to be 1…
Gaseous circumbinary accretion discs provide a promising mechanism to facilitate the mergers of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in galactic nuclei. We measure the torques exerted on accreting SMBH binaries, using 2D, isothermal,…
The gas distribution and dynamics in the inner Galaxy present many unknowns as the origin of the asymmetry of the longitude-velocity (lv) diagram of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). On the other hand, there are recent evidences in the…
We use multi-scale SPH simulations to follow the inflow of gas from galactic scales to <0.1pc, where the gas begins to resemble a traditional Keplerian accretion disk. The key ingredients are gas, stars, black holes (BHs), self-gravity,…
Fueling star formation in large, discy galaxies requires a continuous supply of gas accreting into star-forming regions. Previously, we characterized this accretion in 4 Milky Way mass galaxies ($M_{\rm halo}\sim10^{12}M_{\odot}$) in the…
The relative bar torques for 45 galaxies observed at $K$- band with the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope are determined by transforming the light distributions into potentials and deriving the maximum ratios of the tangential forces relative…
Elongated bar-like features are ubiquitous in galaxies, occurring at the centers of approximately two-thirds of spiral disks in the nearby Universe. Due to gravitational interactions between the bar and the other components of galaxies, it…
The distribution of gravitational torques and bar strengths in the local Universe is derived from a detailed study of 163 galaxies observed in the near-infrared. The results are compared with numerical models for spiral galaxy evolution. It…
The observed gas dynamics in the Milky Way can only be explained by a bar in the galactic center. Such a bar is directly visible in the near-IR maps of the bulge, where it causes a distinctive asymmetric light distribution pattern. Another…
The gas dynamics in the Galactic disc is modeled by releasing an initially axisymmetric SPH component in a completely self-consistent and symmetry-free 3D N-body simulation of the Milky Way in which the stellar components display a…
We discuss the results of the first model of the gas dynamics in the Milky Way in the presence of two bars: the large scale primary bar or boxy bulge and a secondary bar in the Galactic center region. We have obtained an accurate potential…
Any connection between central activity and the large-scale dynamics of disk galaxies requires an efficient mechanism to remove angular momentum from the orbiting material. The only viable means of achieving inflow from kiloparsec scales is…
We have performed smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations for the response of the gaseous disk to the imposed moderately strong non-axisymmetric potentials. The model galaxies are composed of the three stellar components (disk,…
The NRO/OVRO imaging survey of molecular gas in 20 spiral galaxies is used to test the theoretical predictions on bar-driven gas transport, bar dissolution, and bulge evolution. In most galaxies in the survey we find gas condensations of…
Accretion disks around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in active galactic nuclei contain stars, stellar mass black holes, and other stellar remnants, which perturb the disk gas gravitationally. The resulting density perturbations in turn…
The circular speed curve of the Milky Way provides a key constraint on its mass distribution, reflecting the axisymmetric component of the gravitational potential. This is especially critical in the inner Galaxy ($R \lesssim 4$ kpc), where…
We study the characteristics of molecular gas in the central regions of spiral galaxies on the basis of our CO(J=1-0) imaging survey of 20 nearby spiral galaxies using the NRO and OVRO millimeter arrays. Condensations of molecular gas at…
We discuss the efficiency of stellar gravity torques as a mechanism to account for the feeding of the central engines of four low luminosity AGN: NGC4321, NGC4826, NGC4579 and NGC6951. These galaxies have been observed as part of the NUGA…