Parallelized tree–code for clusters of personal computers

We present a tree-code for integrating the equations of the motion of collisionless systems, which has been fully parallelized and adapted to run in several PC-based processors simultaneously, using the well-known PVM message passing library software. SPH algorithms, not yet included, may be easily incorporated to the code. The code is written in ANSI C; it can be freely downloaded from a public ftp site. Simulations of collisions of galaxies are presented, with which the performance of the code is tested.Fil: Viturro, Hector Ruben. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Carpintero, Daniel Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica la Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentin

Orbit classification in the meridional plane of a disk galaxy model with a spherical nucleus

We investigate the regular or chaotic nature of star orbits moving in the meridional plane of an axially symmetric galactic model with a disk and a spherical nucleus. We study the influence of some important parameters of the dynamical system, such as the mass and the scale length of the nucleus, the angular momentum or the energy, by computing in each case the percentage of chaotic orbits, as well as the percentages of orbits of the main regular resonant families. Some heuristic arguments to explain and justify the numerically derived outcomes are also given. Furthermore, we present a new method to find the threshold between chaos and regularity for both Lyapunov Characteristic Numbers and SALI, by using them simultaneously.Comment: Published in Celestial Mechanics & Dynamical Astronomy (CMDA) journa

A new method to find the potential center of N-body systems

We present a new and fast method to nd the potential center of an N-body distribution. The method uses an iterative algorithm which exploits the fact that the gradient of the potential is null at its center: it uses a smoothing radius to avoid getting trapped in secondary minima. We have tested this method on several random realizations of King models (in which the numerical computation of this center is rather dicult, due to the constant density within their cores), and com- pared its performance and accuracy against a more straightforward, but computer intensive method, based on cartesian meshes of increasing spatial resolution. In all cases, both methods converged to the same center, within the mesh resolution, but the new method is two orders of magnitude faster. We have also tested the method with one astronomical problem: the evolu- tion of a 105 particle King model orbiting around a xed potential that represents our Galaxy. We used a spherical harmonics expansion N-body code, in which the potential center determination is crucial for the correct force computation. We compared this simulation with another one in which a method previously used to determine the expansion center is employed (White 1983). Our routine gives better results in energy conservation and mass loss.Fil: Aguilar, L. A.. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Instituto de Astronomia; MéxicoFil: Cruz, F.. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Instituto de Astronomia; MéxicoFil: Carpintero, Daniel Diego. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; Argentin

Insectos hallados en especies de Araujia (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae) en Argentina

The results of a survey of the natural enemies of moth plant or “tasi”, species of Araujia (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae), present in Argentina are shown in this paper. 57 species of insects were recorded of which 17 are cited as natural enemies of these species for the first time. Their specificity was determined and their potential use as biological control agents for Araujia hortorum Fourn. was hypothesized. Pseudosphex noverca Schaus (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae), is recorded for the first time in the Buenos Aires province, Argentina.Los resultados de un estudio de los enemigos naturales de las "planta polilla" o "tasi", especies del género Araujia (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae), que se encontraron en Argentina se presentan en este documento. Se registraron 57 especies de insectos, 17 de las cuales son citadas como enemigos naturales de estas plantas por primera vez. Se determinó su especificidad y se planteó la hipótesis de su uso potencial como agentes de control biológico para Araujia hortorum Fourn. La especie Pseudosphex noverca Schaus, (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae), se cita por primera vez para la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.Fil: Carpintero, Diego Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Testoni, Daniel. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

On a possible origin for the lack of old star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud

We model the dynamical interaction between the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds and their corresponding stellar cluster populations. Our goal is to explore whether the lack of old clusters ($\gtrsim 7$ Gyr) in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) can be the result of the capture of clusters by the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), as well as their ejection due to the tidal interaction between the two galaxies. For this purpose we perform a suite of numerical simulations probing a wide range of parameters for the orbit of the SMC about the LMC. We find that, for orbital eccentricities $e \geq 0.4$, approximately 15 per cent of the SMC clusters are captured by the LMC. In addition, another 20 to 50 per cent of its clusters are ejected into the intergalactic medium. In general, the clusters lost by the SMC are the less tightly bound cluster population. The final LMC cluster distribution shows a spatial segregation between clusters that originally belonged to the LMC and those that were captured from the SMC. Clusters that originally belonged to the SMC are more likely to be found in the outskirts of the LMC. Within this scenario it is possible to interpret the difference observed between the star field and cluster SMC Age-Metallicity Relationships for ages $\gtrsim 7$ Gyr.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

And yet it moves: The dangers of artificially fixing the Milky Way center of mass in the presence of a massive Large Magellanic Cloud

Motivated by recent studies suggesting that the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) could be significantly more massive than previously thought, we explore whether the approximation of an inertial Galactocentric reference frame is still valid in the presence of such a massive LMC. We find that previous estimates of the LMC's orbital period and apocentric distance derived assuming a fixed Milky Way are significantly shortened for models where the Milky Way is allowed to move freely in response to the gravitational pull of the LMC. Holding other parameters fixed, the fraction of models favoring first infall is reduced. Due to this interaction, the Milky Way center of mass within the inner 50 kpc can be significantly displaced in phase-space in a very short period of time that ranges from 0.3 to 0.5 Gyr by as much as 30 kpc and 75 km/s. Furthermore, we show that the gravitational pull of the LMC and response of the Milky Way are likely to significantly affect the orbit and phase space distribution of tidal debris from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr). Such effects are larger than previous estimates based on the torque of the LMC alone. As a result, Sgr deposits debris in regions of the sky that are not aligned with the present-day Sgr orbital plane. In addition, we find that properly accounting for the movement of the Milky Way around its common center of mass with the LMC significantly modifies the angular distance between apocenters and tilts its orbital pole, alleviating tensions between previous models and observations. While these models are preliminary in nature, they highlight the central importance of accounting for the mutual gravitational interaction between the MW and LMC when modeling the kinematics of objects in the Milky Way and Local Group.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 16 pages, 11 figure

Finding how many isolating integrals of motion an orbit obeys

The correlation dimension, that is the dimension obtained by computing the correlation function of pairs of points of a trajectory in phase space, is a numerical technique introduced in the field of non-linear dynamics in order to compute the dimension of the manifold in which an orbit moves, without the need of knowing the actual equations of motion that give rise to the trajectory. This technique has been proposed in the past as a method to measure the dimension of stellar orbits in astronomical potentials, that is the number of isolating integrals of motion the orbits obey. Although the algorithm can in principle yield that number, some care has to be taken in order to obtain good results. We studied the relevant parameters of the technique, found their optimal values, and tested the validity of the method on a number of potentials previously studied in the literature, using the Smaller Alignment Index (SALI), Lyapunov exponents and spectral dynamics as gauges.Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plat

An alternative stable solution for the Kepler-419 system, obtained with the use of a genetic algorithm

Context. The mid-Transit times of an exoplanet may be nonperiodic. The variations in the timing of the transits with respect to a single period, that is, the transit timing variations (TTVs), can sometimes be attributed to perturbations by other exoplanets present in the system, which may or may not transit the star. Aims. Our aim is to compute the mass and the six orbital elements of an nontransiting exoplanet, given only the central times of transit of the transiting body. We also aim to recover the mass of the star and the mass and orbital elements of the transiting exoplanet, suitably modified in order to decrease the deviation between the observed and the computed transit times by as much as possible. Methods. We have applied our method, based on a genetic algorithm, to the Kepler-419 system. Results. We were able to compute all 14 free parameters of the system, which, when integrated in time, give transits within the observational errors. We also studied the dynamics and the long-Term orbital evolution of the Kepler-419 planetary system as defined by the orbital elements computed by us, in order to determine its stability.Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plat

An alternative stable solution for the Kepler-419 system, obtained with the use of a genetic algorithm

Context. The mid-Transit times of an exoplanet may be nonperiodic. The variations in the timing of the transits with respect to a single period, that is, the transit timing variations (TTVs), can sometimes be attributed to perturbations by other exoplanets present in the system, which may or may not transit the star. Aims. Our aim is to compute the mass and the six orbital elements of an nontransiting exoplanet, given only the central times of transit of the transiting body. We also aim to recover the mass of the star and the mass and orbital elements of the transiting exoplanet, suitably modified in order to decrease the deviation between the observed and the computed transit times by as much as possible. Methods. We have applied our method, based on a genetic algorithm, to the Kepler-419 system. Results. We were able to compute all 14 free parameters of the system, which, when integrated in time, give transits within the observational errors. We also studied the dynamics and the long-Term orbital evolution of the Kepler-419 planetary system as defined by the orbital elements computed by us, in order to determine its stability.Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plat

A three dimensional investigation of two dimensional orbits

Orbits in the principal planes of triaxial potentials are known to be prone to unstable motion normal to those planes, so that three dimensional investigations of those orbits are needed even though they are two dimensional. We present here an investigation of such orbits in the well known logarithmic potential which shows that the third dimension must be taken into account when studying them and that the instability worsens for lower values of the forces normal to the plane. Partially chaotic orbits are present around resonances, but also in other regions. The action normal to the plane seems to be related to the isolating integral that distinguishes regular from partially chaotic orbits, but not to the integral that distinguishes partially from fully chaotic orbits.Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plat