Related papers: Dynamical models and numerical simulations of inco…
N-body simulations of collisionless collapse have offered important clues to the construction of realistic stellar dynamical models of elliptical galaxies. Such simulations confirm and quantify the qualitative expectation that rapid…
[Abridged] N-body simulations of collisionless collapse have offered important clues to the construction of realistic stellar dynamical models of elliptical galaxies. Understanding this idealized and relatively simple process, by which…
The equilibria formed by the self-gravitating, collisionless collapse of simple initial conditions have been investigated for decades. We present the results of our attempts to describe the equilibria formed in $N$-body simulations using…
In this paper, we present our conclusions from the numerical study of the collapse of a destabilized collisionless stellar system. We use both direct integration of the Vlasov-Poisson equations and an N-body tree code to obtain our results,…
[Abridged] Recently we have found that a family of models of partially relaxed, anisotropic stellar systems, inspired earlier by studies of incomplete violent relaxation, exhibits some interesting thermodynamic properties. Here we present a…
Theory and simulations are used to study collisionless relaxation of a gravitational $N$-body system. It is shown that when the initial one particle distribution function satisfies the virial condition -- potential energy is minus twice the…
The purpose of this article is to show that when dynamically cold, dissipationless self-gravitating systems collapse, their evolution is a strong function of the symmetry in the initial distribution. We explore with a set of pressure-less…
Violent relaxation has been proposed half a century ago to bear responsibility for non-collisional dynamics and formation of gravitationally bound systems of extended celestial objects (agglomeration of stars, galaxies, clusters of…
The formation of self-gravitating systems is studied by simulating the collapse of a set of N particles which are generated from several distribution functions. We first establish that the results of such simulations depend on N for small…
We describe the astrophysical and numerical basis of N-body simulations, both of collisional stellar systems (dense star clusters and galactic centres) and collisionless stellar dynamics (galaxies and large-scale structure). We explain and…
I use N-body simulations with two mass species of particles to demonstrate that disk galaxy simulations are subject to collisional relaxation at a higher rate than is widely assumed. Relaxation affects the vertical thickness of the disk…
In $N$-body systems with long-range interactions mean-field effects dominate over binary interactions (collisions), so that relaxation to thermal equilibrium occurs on time scales that grow with $N$, diverging in the $N\to\infty$ limit.…
Gas-poor galaxies can be modelled as composite collisionless stellar systems, with a dark matter halo and one or more stellar components, representing different stellar populations. The dynamical evolution of such composite systems is often…
Using controlled numerical N-body experiments, we show how, in the collapse dynamics of an initially cold and uniform distribution of particles with a generic asymmetric shape, finite $N$ fluctuations and perturbations induced by the…
We study the dynamical evolution of idealised stellar systems by averaging results from many $N$-body simulations, each having modest numbers of stars. For isolated systems with stars of uniform mass, we discuss aspects of evolution up to…
We investigate the old problem of the fast relaxation of collisionless $N$-body systems which are collapsing or perturbed, emphasizing the importance of (non-collisional) discreteness effects. We integrate orbit ensembles in fixed external…
In Newtonian gravity the final states of cold dissipationless collapses are characterized by several structural and dynamical properties remarkably similar to those of observed elliptical galaxies. Are these properties a peculiarity of the…
This talk provides a critical assessment of collisionless galactic dynamics, focusing on the interpretation and limitations of the collisionless Boltzmann equation and the physical mechanisms associated with collisionless relaxation.…
A database on shape evolution of direct N-body models formed out of cold, dissipationless collapse is generated using GRAPE and HARP special purpose computers. Such models are important to understand the formation of elliptical galaxies.…
Violent relaxation process of spherical stellar systems is examined by numerical simulations of shell model. The collapse of uniform density sphere both with and without external force is investigated. It is found that time variation of…