Related papers: Dense Stellar Systems as Laboratories for Fundamen…
We apply the idea that dense stellar systems in the central region of galaxies are formed via globular cluster mergers to the formation of the nuclear star cluster of the Milky Way, where a massive black hole is present. Our high precision…
Nuclear star clusters represent some of the most extreme collisional environments in the Universe. A nuclear star cluster like that of the Milky Way harbors a supermassive black hole at its center, which accelerates stars to high speeds…
We present examples of validating components of an astrophysical simulation code. Problems of stellar astrophysics are multi-dimensional and involve physics acting on large ranges of length and time scales that are impossible to include in…
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…
In this paper we describe the current status of the GRAPE-6 project to develop a special-purpose computer with a peak speed exceeding 100 Tflops for the simulation of astrophysical N-body problems. One of the main targets of the GRAPE-6…
We summarize a series of numerical experiments of collisional dynamics in dense stellar systems such as globular clusters (GCs) and in weakly collisional plasmas using a novel simulation technique, the so-called Multi-particle collision…
Space-based observations are beginning to yield detailed information about the stellar kinematics at the very centers of galaxies, within the sphere of gravitational influence of the black hole. The structure and dynamics of these regions…
Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) are dense stellar systems located at the centers of galaxies. Employing Enzo-Abyss, which integrates hydrodynamics with a direct N-body solver, we introduce a simulation capable of resolving the evolution of…
We discuss the performance of direct summation codes used in the simulation of astrophysical stellar systems on highly distributed architectures. These codes compute the gravitational interaction among stars in an exact way and have an…
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…
Nuclear Clusters (NCs) are common stellar systems in the centres of galaxies. Yet, the physical mechanisms involved in their formation are still debated. Using a parsec-resolution hydrodynamical simulation of a dwarf galaxy, we propose an…
Ages are key to truly understand a large plethora of astrophysical phenomena. On the other hand, stellar clusters are open windows to understand stellar evolution, specifically, the change with time and mass of different stellar properties.…
Parallel computing has turned out to be the enabling technology to solve complex physical systems. However, the transition from shared memory, vector computers to massively parallel, distributed memory systems and, recently, to hybrid…
In contrast to the field, the binaries in dense stellar systems are frequently not primordial, and could be either dynamically formed or significantly altered from their primordial states. Destruction and formation of binaries occur in…
We introduce a general-purpose framework for interconnecting scientific simulation programs using a homogeneous, unified software interface. Our framework is intrinsically parallel, and conveniently separates all components in memory. It…
The galactic population of globular clusters are old, dense star systems, with a typical cluster containing $10^4 - 10^6$ stars. As an old population of stars, globular clusters contain many collapsed and degenerate objects. As a dense…
Observations and cosmological simulations indicate that the early Universe hosted numerous compact, high-density stellar systems, where close encounters and physical collisions between stars were likely common. We develop a bottom-up…
This brief overview stresses the importance of laboratory data and theory in analyzing astronomical observations and understanding the physical and chemical processes that drive the astrophysical phenomena in our Universe. This includes…
Galactic globular clusters, which are ancient building blocks of our Galaxy, represent a very interesting family of stellar systems in which some fundamental dynamical processes have taken place on time scales shorter than the age of the…
Molecular clouds are the principle stellar nurseries of our universe, keeping them in the focus of both observational and theoretical studies. From observations, some of the key properties of molecular clouds are well known but many…