Related papers: Resonant Relaxation in Stellar Systems
Globular clusters contain a finite number of stars. As a result, they inevitably undergo secular evolution (`relaxation') causing their mean distribution function (DF) to evolve on long timescales. On one hand, this long-term evolution may…
The massive black hole (MBH) in the Galactic Center and the stars around it form a unique stellar dynamics laboratory for studying how relaxation processes affect the distribution of stars and compact remnants and lead to close interactions…
Vector resonant relaxation (VRR) is known to be the fastest gravitational process that shapes the geometry of stellar orbits in nuclear star clusters. This leads to the realignment of the orbital planes on the corresponding VRR time scale…
Galactic center black holes appear to be nearly universally surrounded by dense stellar clusters. When these black holes go through an active accretion phase, the multiple components of the accretion disk, stellar cluster, and black hole…
We investigate the linear tidal perturbation of a viscous Keplerian disk by a companion star orbiting in a plane inclined to the disk. We consider m=1 perturbations with odd symmetry with respect to the z=0 midplane. Since the response of a…
Stars around a massive black hole (MBH) move on nearly fixed Keplerian orbits, in a centrally-dominated potential. The random fluctuations of the discrete stellar background cause small potential perturbations, which accelerate the…
We explore the dynamics of stellar discs in the close vicinity of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) by means of direct $N$-body simulations. We show that an isolated nuclear stellar disc exhibits anisotropic mass segregation meaning that…
This paper explores the phenomenon of energy relaxation for stars in a galaxy embedded in a high density environment that is subjected continually to perturbations reflecting the presence of other nearby galaxies and/or incoherent internal…
We examine the effect of an accretion disc on the orbits of stars in the central star cluster surrounding a central massive black hole by performing a suite of 39 high-accuracy direct N-body simulations using state-of-the art software and…
Supermassive black holes can capture or disrupt stars that come sufficiently close. This article reviews the dynamical processes by which stars or stellar remnants are placed onto loss-cone orbits and the implications for feeding rates. The…
Consider a system of point masses in a spherical potential. In such systems objects execute planar orbits covering two-dimensional rings or annuli, represented by the angular-momentum vectors, which slowly reorient due to the persistent…
We study the probability of close encounters between stars from a nuclear cluster and a massive black hole. The gravitational field of the system is dominated by the black hole in its sphere of influence. It is further modified by the…
We present the results of a study aimed at exploring, by means of N-body simulations, the evolution of rotating multi-mass star clusters during the violent relaxation phase, in the presence of a weak external tidal field. We study the…
This paper is the third in a series presenting the results of direct numerical integrations of the Fokker-Planck equation for stars orbiting a supermassive black hole (SBH) at the center of a galaxy. The algorithm of Paper II included…
We have investigated the impact of dissipationless minor galaxy mergers on the angular momentum of the remnant. Our simulations cover a range of initial orbital characteristics and the system consists of a massive galaxy with a bulge and…
If a Kerr black hole is connected to a disk rotating around it by a magnetic field, the rotational energy of the Kerr black hole provides an energy source for the radiation of the disk in addition to disk accretion. The black hole exerts a…
Magnetic connections to the plunging region can exert stresses on the inner edge of an accretion disk around a black hole. We recompute the relativistic corrections to the thin-disk dynamics equations when these stresses take the form of a…
Direct numerical integrations of the Fokker-Planck equation in energy-angular momentum space are carried out for stars orbiting a supermassive black hole (SBH) at the center of a galaxy. The algorithm, which was described in detail in an…
The study of how stars distribute themselves around a massive black hole (MBH) in the center of a galaxy is an important prerequisite for the understanding of many galactic-center processes. These include the observed overabundance of point…
Classical Be stars are an enigmatic subclass of rapidly rotating hot stars characterized by dense equatorial disks of gas that have been inferred to orbit with Keplerian velocities. Although these disks seem to be ejected from the star and…