Related papers: Stable Models of Elliptical Galaxies
The mass and anisotropy of an elliptical galaxy can be simultaneously determined from velocity dispersion and line profile shape measurements. We describe the principles, techniques, and limitations of this approach, and the results…
Equilibrium states in galactic dynamics can be described as stationary solutions of the Vlasov-Poisson system, which is the non-relativistic case, or of the Vlasov-Einstein system, which is the relativistic case. To obtain spherically…
In this study we present a simple model of elliptical galaxies aimed at interpreting the gradients in colours and narrow band indices observed across these systems. Salient features of the model are the gradients in mass density and star…
In hierarchical models of galaxy formation, ellipticals form from the merging of disk galaxies drawn together by gravity as their surrounding dark halos coalesce. Using semi-analytic techniques, we are able to follow the merging, star…
The origin of equilibrium gravitational configurations is sought in terms of the stability of their trajectories, as described by the curvature of their Lagrangian configuration manifold of particle positions --- a context in which subtle…
The so-called ``symplectic method'' is used for studying the linear stability of a self-gravitating collisionless stellar system, in which the particles are also submitted to an external potential. The system is steady and spherically…
Recent studies have shown that massive galaxies in the distant universe are surprisingly compact, with typical sizes about a factor of three smaller than equally massive galaxies in the nearby universe. It has been suggested that these…
If the statistics of quasar lensing are to be used to constrain the cosmological model, the various potential systematic uncertainties in the deflector population must be accounted for. One ambiguity in the lensing properties of the…
The stability of rotating isotropic spherical stellar systems is investigated by using N-body simulations. Four spherical models with realistic density profiles are studied: one of them fits the luminosity profile of globular clusters,…
A simple classification is given of the anisotropic relativistic star models, resembling the one of charged isotropic solutions. On the ground of this database, and taking into account the conditions for physically realistic star models, a…
Studies of the Fundamental Plane of early-type galaxies, from small to intermediate redshifts, are often carried out under the guiding principle that the Fundamental Plane reflects the existence of an underlying mass-luminosity relation for…
The dynamics of collisionless galaxy can be described by the Vlasov-Poisson system. By the Jean's theorem, all the spherically symmetric steady galaxy models are given by a distribution of {\Phi}(E,L), where E is the particle energy and L…
Here I review recent work, by other authors and by myself, on some particular topics related to the regular and chaotic motion in elliptical galaxies. I show that it is quite possible to build highly stable triaxial stellar systems that…
Galaxies and the dark matter halos that host them are not spherically symmetric, yet spherical symmetry is a helpful simplifying approximation for idealised calculations and analysis of observational data. The assumption leads to an exact…
A dynamic model of the Galaxy is constructed based on kinematic data for masers with trigonometric parallaxes. Maser data is used to compute the model potential in the Galactic plane. The potential is then generalized to three dimensions…
We study dynamical models for elliptical galaxies, deriving the projected kinematic profiles in a form that is valid for general surface-brightness profiles and (spherical) total mass profiles, without the need for any explicit…
In models of galaxy formation in a hierarchical Universe, elliptical galaxies form through the merging of smaller disk systems. These models yield a number of testable predictions if reliable techniques for determining the relative ages and…
Dynamical properties of two-component galaxy models whose stellar density distribution is described by a gamma-model while the total density distribution has a pure r^(-2) profile, are presented. The orbital structure of the stellar…
The halo masses of nearby individual elliptical galaxies can be estimated by using the kinematics of their stars, planetary nebulae, and globular clusters -- ideally in combination. With currently improving coverage of galaxies of ordinary…
Observations consistently show that elliptical galaxies follow a tight "fundamental plane" scaling relation between size, mean surface brightness and velocity dispersion, with the form $R \propto \sigma^{a}\mu^{b}$. This relation not only…