Related papers: Cusps and Triaxiality
The relaxed distribution of stars around a massive black hole is known to follow a cusp profile $\rho(r)\propto r^{-\alpha}$ with characteristic slope $\alpha=7/4$. This follows from energy conservation and a scattering rate as given by two…
Aims. In this paper we continue our study of density cusps that may contain central black holes. Methods. We recall our attempts to use distribution functions with a memory of self-similar relaxation, but mostly they apply only in…
Supermassive black holes in the centres of giant elliptical galaxies are thought to induce chaos and eliminate triaxiality in their hosts. We address whether this process operates in real systems, by modeling the stellar kinematics of the…
We investigate the influence of the star formation rate on the Tully-Fisher relation. We find that a simple model which combines the empirically-determined star-formation rate with the expected properties of galaxy halos provides a…
This paper introduces the idea that the general mixing inequality obeyed by evolving stellar phase densities may place useful constraints on the possible history of the over-all galaxy population. We construct simple models for the full…
Due to the clumpy nature of the self gravitating gas composing the interstellar medium, it is not clear whether galactic gas dynamics can be discussed in terms of standard hydrodynamics. Nevertheless, it is clear that certain generic…
We carry out fully 3-dimensional simulations of evolution from self-similar, spherically symmetric linear perturbations of a Cold Dark Matter dominated Einstein-de Sitter universe. As a result of the radial orbit instability, the haloes…
Observational studies of galaxy isophotal shapes have shown that galaxy orientations are anisotropic: a galaxy's long axis tends to be oriented toward the center of its host. This radial alignment is seen across a wide range of scales, from…
Aims: In this paper we study density cusps that may contain central black holes. The actual co-eval self-similar growth would not distinguish between the central object and the surroundings. Methods: To study the environment of a growing…
Spherical models of collisionless but quasi-relaxed stellar systems have long been studied as a natural framework for the description of globular clusters. Here we consider the construction of self-consistent models under the same physical…
The structural properties of elliptical galaxies are consistent with their formation in a merging hierarchy. In this picture, the role of gaseous processes and dissipation decreased with increasing mass creating preferentially rotationally…
N-body simulations of major spiral-spiral mergers with different mass ratios q <= 4:1 are presented. All mergers lead to spheroidal stellar systems with de Vaucouleurs-like surface density profiles, resembling elliptical galaxies. The…
Understanding the structural evolution of granular systems is a long-standing problem. A recently proposed theory for such dynamics in two dimensions predicts that steady states of very dense systems satisfy detailed-balance. We analyse…
Elliptical galaxies are modelled as homeoidally striated Jacobi ellipsoids where the peculiar velocity distribution is anisotropic, or equivalently as their adjoints configurations i.e. classical Jacobi ellipsoids of equal mass and axes, in…
Two-body energy exchange between stars orbiting massive black holes (MBHs) leads to the formation of a power-law density distribution n(r)~r^(-a) that diverges towards the MBH. For a single mass population, a=7/4 and the flow of stars is…
High-resolution N--body simulations show a remarkable similarity in the structure of dark matter halos formed through dissipationless hierarchical clustering. Independent of halo mass, power spectrum, and cosmological parameters, the…
In recent years, a growing zoo of compact stellar systems (CSSs) have been found whose physical properties (mass, size, velocity dispersion) place them between classical globular clusters (GCs) and true galaxies, leading to debates about…
The cold dark matter model of structure formation faces apparent problems on galactic scales. Several threads point to excessive halo concentration, including central densities that rise too steeply with decreasing radius. Yet, random…
A major problem in extragalactic astronomy is the inability to distinguish in a robust, physical, and model independent way how galaxy populations are related to each other and to their formation histories. A similar, but distinct, and also…
The morphological distribution of primordial density peaks is assessed. Previous determinations, those of Peacock & Heavens (1985) and those of Bardeen et al (1986) have contradictory concluded that there exist a tendency towards prolate or…