Author: Xiaolei Zhang Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG ISBN: 3110525445 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 421
Book Description
This research monograph presents a new dynamical framework for the study of secular morphological evolution of galaxies along the Hubble sequence. Classical approaches based on Boltzmann’s kinetic equation, as well as on its moment-equation descendants the Euler and Navier-Stokes fluid equations, are inadequate for treating the maintenance and long-term evolution of systems containing self-organized structures such as galactic density-wave modes. A global and synthetic approach, incorporating correlated fluctuations of the constituent particles during a nonequilibrium phase transition, is adopted to supplement the continuum treatment. The cutting-edge research combining analytical, N-body simulational, and observational aspects, as well as the fundamental-physics connections it provides, make this work a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, many-body physics, complexity theory, and other related fields. Contents Dynamical Drivers of Galaxy Evolution N-Body Simulations of Galaxy Evolution Astrophysical Implications of the Dynamical Theory Putting It All Together Concluding Remarks Appendix: Relation to Kinetics and Fluid Mechanics
Author: Ignacio Ferreras Publisher: UCL Press ISBN: 1911307614 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 200
Book Description
Galaxies, along with their underlying dark matter halos, constitute the building blocks of structure in the Universe. Of all fundamental forces, gravity is the dominant one that drives the evolution of structures from small density seeds at early times to the galaxies we see today. The interactions among myriads of stars, or dark matter particles, in a gravitating structure produce a system with fascinating connotations to thermodynamics, with some analogies and some fundamental differences. Ignacio Ferreras presents a concise introduction to extragalactic astrophysics, with emphasis on stellar dynamics, and the growth of density fluctuations in an expanding Universe. Additional chapters are devoted to smaller systems (stellar clusters) and larger ones (galaxy clusters). Fundamentals of Galaxy Dynamics, Formation and Evolution is written for advanced undergraduates and beginning postgraduate students, providing a useful tool to get up to speed in a starting research career. Some of the derivations for the most important results are presented in detail to enable students appreciate the beauty of maths as a tool to understand the workings of galaxies. Each chapter includes a set of problems to help the student advance with the material.
Author: David Merritt Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 1400846129 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 567
Book Description
Deep within galaxies like the Milky Way, astronomers have found a fascinating legacy of Einstein's general theory of relativity: supermassive black holes. Connected to the evolution of the galaxies that contain these black holes, galactic nuclei are the sites of uniquely energetic events, including quasars, stellar tidal disruptions, and the generation of gravitational waves. This textbook is the first comprehensive introduction to dynamical processes occurring in the vicinity of supermassive black holes in their galactic environment. Filling a critical gap, it is an authoritative resource for astrophysics and physics graduate students, and researchers focusing on galactic nuclei, the astrophysics of massive black holes, galactic dynamics, and gravitational wave detection. It is an ideal text for an advanced graduate-level course on galactic nuclei and as supplementary reading in graduate-level courses on high-energy astrophysics and galactic dynamics. David Merritt summarizes the theoretical work of the last three decades on the evolution of galactic nuclei, the formation of massive black holes, and the interaction between black holes and stars. He explores in depth such important topics as observations of galactic nuclei, dynamical models, weighing black holes, motion near supermassive black holes, evolution of nuclei due to gravitational encounters, loss cone theory, and binary supermassive black holes. Self-contained and up-to-date, the textbook includes a summary of the current literature and previously unpublished work by the author. For researchers working on active galactic nuclei, galaxy evolution, and the generation of gravitational waves, this book will be an essential resource.
Author: Xiaolei Zhang Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG ISBN: 3110527421 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 338
Book Description
This research monograph presents a new dynamical framework for the study of secular morphological evolution of galaxies along the Hubble sequence. Classical approaches based on Boltzmann’s kinetic equation, as well as on its moment-equation descendants the Euler and Navier-Stokes fluid equations, are inadequate for treating the maintenance and long-term evolution of systems containing self-organized structures such as galactic density-wave modes. A global and synthetic approach, incorporating correlated fluctuations of the constituent particles during a nonequilibrium phase transition, is adopted to supplement the continuum treatment. The cutting-edge research combining analytical, N-body simulational, and observational aspects, as well as the fundamental-physics connections it provides, make this work a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, many-body physics, complexity theory, and other related fields. Contents Dynamical Drivers of Galaxy Evolution N-Body Simulations of Galaxy Evolution Astrophysical Implications of the Dynamical Theory Putting It All Together Concluding Remarks Appendix: Relation to Kinetics and Fluid Mechanics
Author: James Binney Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 1400828724 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 902
Book Description
Since it was first published in 1987, Galactic Dynamics has become the most widely used advanced textbook on the structure and dynamics of galaxies and one of the most cited references in astrophysics. Now, in this extensively revised and updated edition, James Binney and Scott Tremaine describe the dramatic recent advances in this subject, making Galactic Dynamics the most authoritative introduction to galactic astrophysics available to advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers. Every part of the book has been thoroughly overhauled, and many sections have been completely rewritten. Many new topics are covered, including N-body simulation methods, black holes in stellar systems, linear stability and response theory, and galaxy formation in the cosmological context. Binney and Tremaine, two of the world's leading astrophysicists, use the tools of theoretical physics to describe how galaxies and other stellar systems work, succinctly and lucidly explaining theoretical principles and their applications to observational phenomena. They provide readers with an understanding of stellar dynamics at the level needed to reach the frontiers of the subject. This new edition of the classic text is the definitive introduction to the field. ? A complete revision and update of one of the most cited references in astrophysics Provides a comprehensive description of the dynamical structure and evolution of galaxies and other stellar systems Serves as both a graduate textbook and a resource for researchers Includes 20 color illustrations, 205 figures, and more than 200 problems Covers the gravitational N-body problem, hierarchical galaxy formation, galaxy mergers, dark matter, spiral structure, numerical simulations, orbits and chaos, equilibrium and stability of stellar systems, evolution of binary stars and star clusters, and much more Companion volume to Galactic Astronomy, the definitive book on the phenomenology of galaxies and star clusters
Author: Frank Hohl Publisher: ISBN: Category : Galaxies Languages : en Pages : 116
Book Description
A computer model for isolated disks of stars is presented and is used to study the self-consistent motion of large numbers of point masses as they move in the plane of the galactic disk. The Control Data 6600 computer system at the Langley Research Center was used to integrate the equations of motion for each star for systems containing from 50,000 to 200,000 stars. Any initially cold balanced disk was found to be violently unstable. A sufficient amount of velocity dispersion will stabilize all small-scale disturbances. However, most disks investigated were found to be unstable against slowly growing long-wavelength modes, and after about two rotations the disks tended to assume a bar-shaped structure. It was also found that the final mass distribution for most disks could be closely approximated by an exponential variation irrespective of the initial mass distribution. To study the development of spiral structure, the model was modified to include a fixed central force similar to that in the Schmidt model of the Galaxy. The mass of the stars in the disk was taken to be from 5 to 50 percent of the total mass of the Galaxy. The evolution of a number of initial distributions of stars was investigated. The results of the calculation gave a velocity dispersion for the disk stars which was about 50 percent larger than the value of about 30 km/sec found from observation of stars in the solar neighborhood. For some of the disks investigated, a pronounced spiral structure remained even after 8.5 rotations.
Author: Enrico Vesperini Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 9780521874687 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Dense stellar systems lie at the interface between dynamics, stellar evolution, and galaxy formation, and they provide us with an ideal laboratory to understand many different aspects of these important fields as well as to explore the interplay between them. The complete study of dense stellar systems is a very challenging task which requires the collaboration and the exchange of ideas of astronomers and physicists with observational and theoretical expertise in galactic and extra-galactic astronomy, stellar dynamics, hydrodynamics, stellar evolution, as well as knowledge of many aspects of computational physics. IAU Symposium 246 brought together experts in all these areas to cover the broad field of dense stellar systems with particular emphasis on the interplay between them and on the comparison between observations and simulations. This volume provides a complete review of the most recent studies in this topical research.
Author: Giuseppe Bertin Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1107000548 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 487
Book Description
Provides advanced students with an introduction to modern galactic dynamics, and equips them with useful observational and theoretical tools.