Related papers: Radial disk heating by more than one spiral densit…
We consider a differentially rotating, 2D stellar disk perturbed by two steady state spiral density waves moving at different patterns speeds. Our investigation is based on direct numerical integration of initially circular test-particle…
Current understanding of the secular evolution of galactic disks suggests that this process is dominated by two or more heating mechanisms, which increase the random motions of stars in the disk. In particular, the gravitational influence…
We seek to understand the origin of radial migration in spiral galaxies by analyzing in detail the structure and evolution of an idealized, isolated galactic disk. To understand the redistribution of stars, we characterize the…
Spiral density wave theory attempts to describe the spiral pattern in spiral galaxies in terms of a long-lived wave structure with a constant pattern speed in order to avoid the winding dilemma. The pattern is consequently a rigidly…
The problem of dynamical heating of galactic discs by spiral density waves is discussed using the shearing sheet model. The secular evolution of the disc is described quantitatively by a diffusion equation for the distribution function of…
We show that spiral waves in galaxy discs churn the stars and gas in a manner that largely preserves the overall angular momentum distribution and leads to little increase in random motion. Changes in the angular momenta of individual stars…
Transient spiral waves of moderate amplitude cause substantial changes to the angular momenta of many stars in a galaxy disk. Stars near to corotation are affected most strongly: for a wave of ~20% overdensity, the rms change for particles…
We have recently identified a new radial migration mechanism resulting from the overlap of spiral and bar resonances in galactic disks. Here we confirm the efficiency of this mechanism in fully self-consistent, Tree-SPH simulations, as well…
Disk galaxies evolve over time through processes that may rearrange both the radial mass profile and the metallicity distribution within the disk. This review of such slow changes is largely, though not entirely, restricted to…
Spiral density wave theory attempts to describe the spiral pattern in spiral galaxies in terms of a long-lived wave structure with a constant pattern speed in order to avoid the winding dilemma. The pattern is consequently a rigidly…
Spirals in galaxies have long been thought to be caused by gravitational instability in the stellar component of the disk, but discerning the precise mechanism had proved elusive. Tidal interactions, and perhaps bars, may provoke some…
In the solar-neighbourhood, older stars have larger random velocities than younger ones. It is argued that the increase in velocity dispersion with time is predominantly a gradual process rather than one induced by discrete events such as…
Circumstellar asymmetries such as central warps have recently been shown to cast shadows on outer disks. We investigate the hydrodynamical consequences of such variable illumination on the outer regions of a transition disk, and the…
Circumstellar disks in binaries are perturbed by the companion gravity causing significant alterations of the disk morphology. Spiral waves due to the companion tidal force also develop in the vertical direction and affect the disk…
We study the radial migration of stars driven by recurring multi-arm spiral features in an exponential disk embedded in a dark matter halo. The spiral perturbations redistribute angular momentum within the disk and lead to substantial…
Recent theoretical work suggests that it may be common for stars in the disks of spiral galaxies to migrate radially across significant distances in the disk. Such migrations are a result of resonant scattering with spiral arms and move the…
In the density wave theory of spiral structure, the grand-design two-armed spiral pattern is taken to rotate rigidly in a galactic disc with a constant, definite pattern speed. The observational measurement of the pattern speed of the…
We present evidence that recurrent spiral activity, long manifested in simulations of disk galaxies, results from the super-position of a few transient spiral modes. Each mode lasts between 5 and 10 rotations at its corotation radius where…
It has been believed that spirals in pure stellar disks, especially the ones spontaneously formed, decay in several galactic rotations due to the increase of stellar velocity dispersions. Therefore, some cooling mechanism, for example…
Using the RAVE survey, we recently brought to light a gradient in the mean galactocentric radial velocity of stars in the extended solar neighbourhood. This gradient likely originates from non-axisymmetric perturbations of the potential,…