74 research outputs found
Chaos in self-gravitating many-body systems: Lyapunov time dependence of N and the influence of general relativity
Computational astrophysic
Survivability of planetary systems in young and dense star clusters
GalaxiesComputational astrophysic
Missing Link Found? The "Runaway" Path to Supermassive Black Holes
Observations of stellar kinematics, gas dynamics and masers around galactic
nuclei have now firmly established that many galaxies host central supermassive
black holes (SMBHs) with masses in the range M.
However, how these SMBHs formed is not well understood. One reason for this
situation is the lack of observations of intermediate-mass BHs (IMBHs), which
could bridge the gap between stellar-mass BHs and SMBHs. Recently, this missing
link (i.e., an IMBH) has been found in observations made by the ASCA and the
Chandra of the central region of the starburst galaxy M82 \citep{MT99, PG99,
MT01, Ka01}. Subsequent observations by SUBARU have revealed that this IMBH
apparently coincides with a young compact star cluster. Based on these
findings, we suggest a new formation scenario for SMBHs. In this scenario,
IMBHs first form in young compact star clusters through runaway merging of
massive stars. While these IMBHs are forming, the host star clusters sink
toward the galactic nucleus through dynamical friction, and upon evaporation
deposit their IMBHs near the galactic center. The IMBHs then form binaries and
eventually merge via gravitational radiation, forming an SMBH.Comment: 12 pages 2 figuresm submitted to Astrophysical Journal, Letter
Multiwavelength Studies of Young OB Associations
We discuss how contemporary multiwavelength observations of young
OB-dominated clusters address long-standing astrophysical questions: Do
clusters form rapidly or slowly with an age spread? When do clusters expand and
disperse to constitute the field star population? Do rich clusters form by
amalgamation of smaller subclusters? What is the pattern and duration of
cluster formation in massive star forming regions (MSFRs)? Past observational
difficulties in obtaining good stellar censuses of MSFRs have been alleviated
in recent studies that combine X-ray and infrared surveys to obtain rich,
though still incomplete, censuses of young stars in MSFRs. We describe here one
of these efforts, the MYStIX project, that produced a catalog of 31,784
probable members of 20 MSFRs. We find that age spread within clusters are real
in the sense that the stars in the core formed after the cluster halo. Cluster
expansion is seen in the ensemble of (sub)clusters, and older dispersing
populations are found across MSFRs. Direct evidence for subcluster merging is
still unconvincing. Long-lived, asynchronous star formation is pervasive across
MSFRs.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. To appear in "The Origin of Stellar Clusters",
edited by Steven Stahler, Springer, 2017, in pres
N-body simulations of gravitational dynamics
We describe the astrophysical and numerical basis of N-body simulations, both
of collisional stellar systems (dense star clusters and galactic centres) and
collisionless stellar dynamics (galaxies and large-scale structure). We explain
and discuss the state-of-the-art algorithms used for these quite different
regimes, attempt to give a fair critique, and point out possible directions of
future improvement and development. We briefly touch upon the history of N-body
simulations and their most important results.Comment: invited review (28 pages), to appear in European Physics Journal Plu
Dense Stellar Populations: Initial Conditions
This chapter is based on four lectures given at the Cambridge N-body school
"Cambody". The material covered includes the IMF, the 6D structure of dense
clusters, residual gas expulsion and the initial binary population. It is aimed
at those needing to initialise stellar populations for a variety of purposes
(N-body experiments, stellar population synthesis).Comment: 85 pages. To appear in The Cambridge N-body Lectures, Sverre Aarseth,
Christopher Tout, Rosemary Mardling (eds), Lecture Notes in Physics Series,
Springer Verla
Star clusters near and far; tracing star formation across cosmic time
© 2020 Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00690-x.Star clusters are fundamental units of stellar feedback and unique tracers of their host galactic properties. In this review, we will first focus on their constituents, i.e.\ detailed insight into their stellar populations and their surrounding ionised, warm, neutral, and molecular gas. We, then, move beyond the Local Group to review star cluster populations at various evolutionary stages, and in diverse galactic environmental conditions accessible in the local Universe. At high redshift, where conditions for cluster formation and evolution are more extreme, we are only able to observe the integrated light of a handful of objects that we believe will become globular clusters. We therefore discuss how numerical and analytical methods, informed by the observed properties of cluster populations in the local Universe, are used to develop sophisticated simulations potentially capable of disentangling the genetic map of galaxy formation and assembly that is carried by globular cluster populations.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
A MODEST review
We present an account of the state of the art in the fields explored by the
research community invested in 'Modeling and Observing DEnse STellar systems'.
For this purpose, we take as a basis the activities of the MODEST-17
conference, which was held at Charles University, Prague, in September 2017.
Reviewed topics include recent advances in fundamental stellar dynamics,
numerical methods for the solution of the gravitational N-body problem,
formation and evolution of young and old star clusters and galactic nuclei,
their elusive stellar populations, planetary systems, and exotic compact
objects, with timely attention to black holes of different classes of mass and
their role as sources of gravitational waves.
Such a breadth of topics reflects the growing role played by collisional
stellar dynamics in numerous areas of modern astrophysics. Indeed, in the next
decade, many revolutionary instruments will enable the derivation of positions
and velocities of individual stars in the Milky Way and its satellites and will
detect signals from a range of astrophysical sources in different portions of
the electromagnetic and gravitational spectrum, with an unprecedented
sensitivity. On the one hand, this wealth of data will allow us to address a
number of long-standing open questions in star cluster studies; on the other
hand, many unexpected properties of these systems will come to light,
stimulating further progress of our understanding of their formation and
evolution.Comment: 42 pages; accepted for publication in 'Computational Astrophysics and
Cosmology'. We are much grateful to the organisers of the MODEST-17
conference (Charles University, Prague, September 2017). We acknowledge the
input provided by all MODEST-17 participants, and, more generally, by the
members of the MODEST communit
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