Related papers: Distribution function-based modelling of discrete …
We present and apply a method to infer the mass of the Milky Way (MW) by comparing the dynamics of MW satellites to those of model satellites in the EAGLE cosmological hydrodynamics simulations. A distribution function (DF) for galactic…
A powerful method to measure the mass profile of a galaxy is through the velocities of tracer particles distributed through its halo. Transforming this kind of data accurately to a mass profile M(r), however, is not a trivial problem. In…
We introduce a novel dynamical model, named empirical triaxial orbit-superposition model, for the Milky Way halo. This model relies on minimal physical assumptions that the system is stationary, meaning the distribution function in 6D…
We develop a new technique to equip models of spiral galaxies with self-consistent dynamics that match observations. We apply our technique and construct a model for the Milky Way with a dynamical interstellar medium (ISM). In simulations a…
The sensitivity of direct detection experiments depends on the phase-space distribution of dark matter near the Sun, which can be modeled theoretically using cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies. However,…
We present a new iterative method for constructing equilibrium phase models of stellar systems. Importantly, this method can provide phase models with arbitrary mass distributions. The method is based on the following principle. Our task is…
By means of high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way-like disc galaxies, we conduct an analysis of the associated stellar metallicity distribution functions (MDFs). After undertaking a kinematic decomposition of…
We consider how dynamical friction acts on black holes that receive a velocity kick while located at the center of a gravitational potential, analogous to a star cluster, due to either a natal kick or the anisotropic emission of…
We use the complete Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI) Galaxy Survey to determine the contribution of slow rotators, as well as different types of fast rotators, to the stellar mass function of galaxies in the local…
We determine the dynamical black hole mass in NGC404 including modeling of the nuclear stellar populations. We combine \hst/STIS spectroscopy with WFC3 images to create a local color-\ml~relation derived from stellar population modeling of…
Among dynamical modeling techniques, the made-to-measure (M2M) method for modeling steady-state systems is among the most flexible, allowing non-parametric distribution functions in complex gravitational potentials to be modeled efficiently…
We analyze the distribution of stars of arbitrary mass function xi(m) around a massive black hole (MBH). Unless xi is strongly dominated by light stars, the steady-state distribution function approaches a power-law in specific energy…
We extend models of our Galaxy based on distribution functions (DFs) that are analytic functions of the action integrals to extended distribution functions (EDFs), which have an analytic dependence on metallicity as well. We use a simple,…
The nuclear star cluster of the Milky Way is a unique target in the Universe. Contrary to extragalactic nuclear star clusters, using current technology it can be resolved into tens of thousands of individual stars. This allows us to study…
We construct the first comprehensive dynamical model for the high-quality subset of stellar kinematics of the Milky Way disc, with full 6D phase-space coordinates, provided by the Gaia Data Release 2. We adopt an axisymmetric approximation…
Dwarf galaxies satellite of the Milky Way are excellent laboratories for testing dark matter (DM) models and baryonic feedback implementation in simulations. The Sculptor 'classical' dwarf spheroidal galaxy, a system with two distinct…
A suite of vast stellar surveys mapping the Milky Way, culminating in the Gaia mission, is revolutionizing the empirical information about the distribution and properties of stars in the Galactic stellar disk. We review and lay out what…
If a dynamical system is long-lived and non-resonant (that is, if there is a set of tracers that have evolved independently through many orbital times), and if the system is observed at any non-special time, it is possible to infer the…
We formulate the collisionless Boltzmann equation (CBE) for dense star clusters that lie within the radius of influence of a massive black hole in galactic nuclei. Our approach to these nearly Keplerian systems follows that of Sridhar and…
Mass segregation is seen in many star clusters, but whether massive stars form in the center of a cluster or migrate there dynamically is still debated. N-body simulations have shown that early dynamical mass segregation is possible when…