Theoretical astrophysics and plasma physics at RPC

Abstract:

Using a sample of 213713 stars from the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) survey, limited to a distance of 2kpc from the Sun and to |z| < 1kpc, we report the detection of a velocity gradient of disc stars in the fourth quadrant, directed radially from the Galactic Centre. In the direction of the Galactic Centre, we apply a simple method independent of stellar proper motions and of Galactic parameters to assess the existence of this gradient in the RAVE data. This velocity gradient corresponds to |K+C| > rsim 3 km s-1 kpc-1, where K and C are the Oort constants measuring the local divergence and radial shear of the velocity field, respectively. In order to illustrate the effect, assuming a zero radial velocity of the local standard of rest we then reconstruct the two-dimensional Galactocentric velocity maps using two different sets of proper motions and photometric distances based either on isochrone fitting or on K-band magnitudes, and considering two sets of values for the Galactocentric radius of the Sun and local circular speed. Further observational confirmation of our finding with line-of-sight velocities of stars at low latitudes, together with further modelling, should help constrain the non-axisymmetric components of the Galactic potential, including the bar, the spiral arms and possibly the ellipticity of the dark halo. © 2011 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2011 RAS.

Abstract:

This work aims to study the distribution of the luminous and dark matter in Coma early-type galaxies. Dynamical masses obtained under the assumption that mass follows light do not match with the masses of strong gravitational lens systems of similar velocity dispersions. Instead, dynamical fits with dark matter haloes are in good agreement with lensing results. We derive mass-to-light ratios of the stellar populations from Lick absorption line indices, reproducing well the observed galaxy colours. Even in dynamical models with dark matter haloes the amount of mass that follows the light increases more rapidly with the galaxy velocity dispersion than expected for a constant stellar initial mass function (IMF). While galaxies around σeff≈ 200kms-1 are consistent with a Kroupa IMF, the same IMF underpredicts luminous dynamical masses of galaxies with σeff≈ 300kms-1 by a factor of 2 and more. A systematic variation in the stellar IMF with the galaxy velocity dispersion could explain this trend with a Salpeter IMF for the most massive galaxies. If the IMF is instead constant, then some of the dark matter in high-velocity-dispersion galaxies must follow a spatial distribution very similar to that of the light. A combination of both, a varying IMF and a component of dark matter that follows the light is possible as well. For a subsample of galaxies with old stellar populations, we show that the tilt in the Fundamental Plane can be explained by systematic variations of the total (stellar + dark) mass inside the effective radius. We tested commonly used mass estimator formulae, finding them accurate at the 20-30 per cent level. © 2011 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2011 RAS.

Abstract:

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.

Abstract:

In galaxies like the Milky Way, cold (~104K) gas ejected from the disc by stellar activity (the so-called galactic-fountain gas) is expected to interact with the virial-temperature (~106K) gas of the corona. The associated transfer of momentum between cold and hot gas has important consequences for the dynamics of both gas phases. We quantify the effects of such an interaction using hydrodynamical simulations of cold clouds travelling through a hot medium at different relative velocities. Our main finding is that there is a velocity threshold between clouds and corona, of about 75kms-1, below which the hot gas ceases to absorb momentum from the cold clouds. It follows that in a disc galaxy like the Milky Way a static corona would be rapidly accelerated; the corona is expected to rotate and to lag, in the inner regions, by ~80-120kms-1 with respect to the cold disc. We also show how the existence of this velocity threshold can explain the observed kinematics of the cold extraplanar gas. © 2011 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2011 RAS.

Abstract:

Stars near the Sun oscillate both horizontally and vertically. In a previous paper by Binney it was assumed that the coupling between these motions can be modelled by determining the horizontal motion without reference to the vertical motion, and recovering the coupling between the motions by assuming that the vertical action is adiabatically conserved as the star oscillates horizontally. Here, we show that, although the assumption of adiabatic invariance works well, more accurate results can be obtained by taking the vertical action into account when calculating the horizontal motion. We use orbital tori to present a simple but fairly realistic model of the Galaxy's discs in which the motion of stars is handled rigorously, without decomposing it into horizontal and vertical components. We examine the ability of the adiabatic approximation to calculate the model's observables, and find that it performs perfectly in the plane, but errs slightly away from the plane. When the new correction to the adiabatic approximation is used, the density, mean-streaming velocity and velocity dispersions are in error by less than 10per cent for distances up to 2.5kpc from the Sun. The torus-based model reveals that at locations above the plane, the long axis of the velocity ellipsoid points almost to the Galactic centre, even though the model potential is significantly flattened. This result contradicts the widespread belief that the shape of the Galaxy's potential can be strongly constrained by the orientation of velocity ellipsoid near the Sun. An analysis of individual orbits reveals that in a general potential the orientation of the velocity ellipsoid depends on the structure of the model's distribution function as much as on its gravitational potential, contrary to what is the case for Stäckel potentials. We argue that the adiabatic approximation will provide a valuable complement to torus-based models in the interpretation of current surveys of the Galaxy. © 2011 The Authors. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2011 RAS.