Dynamical instabilities in spherical stellar systems

Details Dynamical instabilities in spherical stellar systems Dynamical instabilities in spherical stellar systems

Jan 1986

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986apj...300..112b&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 300, Jan. 1, 1986, p. 112-131.

Statistics

Computation

116

Astrodynamics, Dynamic Stability, Orbital Mechanics, Stellar Motions, Stellar Systems, Computational Astrophysics, Globular Clusters, Many Body Problem

Scientific paper

The first numerical examples of spherical stellar systems in equilibrium which are unstable on a dynamical time scale were found by Henon using N-body code with enforced spherical symmetry. Henon's models have been reexamined using a code which includes nonradical forces to quadrupole order; the key results have been checked using a direct-summation Aarseth code. The radial instability reported by Henon is confirmed; in addition, two nonradial instabilities have been found. In the first kind, seen in models with predominantly radial orbits, the system permanently loses spherical symmetry and settles into a strongly triaxial ellipsoid. In the second kind, which appears in models with nearly circular orbits, the mass distribution exhibits quadrupole-mode oscillations. Analytic estimates and physical interpretations are presented for all three instabilities. The nonradial instabilities are found even in cases where the distribution function decreases with energy, suggesting that dynamical instabilities may be more common in spherical systems than had been previously thought.

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