Professor James Binney FRS

Abstract:

An estimate of the convergence radius of a simulated CDM halo is obtained under the assumption that the peak phase-space density in the system is set by discreteness effects that operate prior to relaxation. The predicted convergence radii are approximately a factor 2 larger than those estimated for numerical convergence studies. A toy model is used to study the formation of sheets of the cosmic web, from which DM haloes form later. This model demonstrates the interplay between phase mixing and violent relaxation that must also be characteristic of spherical collapse. In the limit that sheets contain arbitrarily many particles, it seems that power-law profiles are established in both distance and energy. When only a finite number of particles is employed, relaxation is prematurely terminated and the power laws are broken. In a given simulation, the sheets with the highest peak phase-space densities are those that form from the longest waves. Hence simulations with little small-scale power are expected to form the cuspiest haloes.

Abstract:

It is now clear that AGN heat cooling flows, largely by driving winds. The winds may contain a relativistic component that generates powerful synchrotron radiation, but it is not clear that all winds do so. The spatial and temporal stability of the AGN/cooling flow interaction are discussed. Collimation of the winds probably provides spatial stability. Temporal stability may be possible only for black holes with masses above a critical value. Both the failure of cooling flows to have adiabatic cores and the existence of X-ray cavities confirm the importance of collimated outflows. I quantify the scale of the convective flow that the AGN Hydra would need to drive if it balanced radiative inward flow by outward flow parallel to the jets. At least in Virgo any such flow must be confined to r<~20 kpc. Hydrodynamical simulations suggest that AGN outbursts cannot last longer than ~25 Myr. Data for four clusters with well studied X-ray cavities suggests that heating associated with cavity formation approximately balances radiative cooling. The role of cosmic infall and the mechanism of filament formation are briefly touched on.

Abstract:

The competition between CDM and MOND to account for the `missing mass' phenomena is asymmetric. MOND has clearly demonstrated that a characteristic acceleration $a_0$ underlies the data and understanding what gives rise to $a_0$ is an important task. The reason for MOND's success may lie in either the details of galaxy formation, or an advance in fundamental physics that reduces to MOND in a suitable limit. CDM has enjoyed great success on large scales. The theory cannot be definitively tested on small scales until galaxy formation has been understood because baryons either are, or possibly have been, dominant in all small-scale objects. MOND's predictive power is seriously undermined by its isolation from the rest of physics. In view of this isolation, the way forward is probably to treat CDM as an established theory to be used alongside relativity and electromagnetism in efforts to understand the formation and evolution of galaxies.

Abstract:

We emphasise the importance of the gas entropy in studying the evolution of cluster gas evolving under the influence of radiative cooling. On this basis, we develop an analytical model for this evolution. We then show that the assumptions needed for such a model are consistent with a numerical solution of the same equations. We postulate that the passive cooling phase ends when the central gas temperature falls to very low values. It follows a phase during which an unspecified mechanism heats the cluster gas. We show that in such a scenario the small number of clusters containing gas with temperatures below about 1 keV is simply a consequence of the radiative cooling.

Abstract:

Using only the assumption that all interactions between particles in an accretion flow are electromagnetically mediated, it is shown that the time to establish equipartition between ions and electrons is shorter than the characteristic accretion time. Consequently, two-temperature fits to the spectra of accreting objects are unphysical, and models in which significant thermal energy is carried across the event horizon are effectively ruled out.