The stochastic behaviour of a galactic model dynamical system

We study the stochastic behaviour of a time-independent dynamical system that has closed zero velocity curves for arbitrarily large energies. Thus no escapes appear in such a system and we can study the stochasticity of the system for any value of the energy. The numerical results show that the degree of stochasticity grows as the energy increases from zero, but then it reaches a maximum and for still larger energies it decreases slowly.     

A galactic model with a pulsating active nucleus

The chemical evolution of the Galaxy with a pulsating active nucleus is investigated. The surface densities of gas, stellar remnants, stars and chemical species such as helium and heavy elements inZ6 are calculated as functions of the position in the Galaxy and of the evolutional time of the Galaxy. According to this model, the entire luminosity of the galactic disk becomes almost constant at some 2×10⁹ yr after the galactic formation, but the nuclear bulge, whose dimensions gradually diminishes, becomes more and more luminous with time. On the other hand, the abundance depletion of helium and heavy elements appears in the inner region of the disk after some 6×10⁹ yr of the galactic formation. It also becomes clear that the activity for the nucleosynthesis in the nucleus is limited only in the early history of the Galaxy and has been reduced rapidly with time. Using this model, we can account for the observed phenomena such as the smooth dependence of the elemental abundance in the halo population on the distance from the galactic center, the high abundance of heavy elements in quasar spectra and etc.     

A galactic model with a pulsating active nucleus

The accumulation and distribution of rare-light elements in the Galaxy is investigated according to a model of the galaxy at which center there exists a pulsating active nucleus with decreasing activity with time. The abundances of rare-light elements rapidly decrease with approaching to the galactic center whereas the most abundant region of these elements is the annular region of the radial distance ofr=8～14 kpc from the galactic center. In the inner region ofr?8 kpc the abundances of these elements have varied by two to three orders of magnitude from the early days of the galactic history till now, but inr?8 kpc they have been almost constant within a factor of 2. It has become clear that if the nuclides D,³He,⁷Li,¹⁰B and¹¹B have been produced mainly by the shock process taking place in the outer envelope of type-II supernova, they must have been created by the mass fractions of the supernova of some 2.7×10^?3, 1.7×10^?4, 6.9×10^?8, 1.7×10^?7 and 7.9×10^?7, respectively, to account for the solar system abundances.     

A galactic model with a pulsating active nucleus. I

A model of galaxy with an active nucleus is investigated; The cloud in the galactic disc accretes on the core. The core temperature and hence the core luminosity becomes high because of the kinetic energy release by the accreting gas cloud. Then the gas and dust in the core is ejected outward by the radiation pressure from resonance line scattering, forms a sort of halo around the core and subsequently falls on the galactic plane. The gas and dust subsisted from star formation accretes again on the nucleus to provoke another explosion. So these processes are cyclic throughout the life of the galaxy.According to this model, the period of explosion depends only on the temperatureT of the system in such a manner as(y)=2.7×10⁶ T ^1/2. This relation can well explain the observed time scales for galactic explosions. On the other hand, the time dependence of heavy elements abundance, of the redshift of distant galaxy and of galactic luminosity is investigated. The redshift dependence of galactic distribution is also examined. It has become clear that this model can lead the inconsistent results with observational facts. The other problems concerning with galaxies or metagalaxies should be treated along this line.     

Exploring the nature of orbits in a galactic model with a massive nucleus

In the present article, we use an axially symmetric galactic gravitational model with a disk–halo and a spherical nucleus, in order to investigate the transition from regular to chaotic motion for stars moving in the meridian (r,z) plane. We study in detail the transition from regular to chaotic motion, in two different cases: the time independent model and the time evolving model. In both cases, we explored all the available range regarding the values of the main involved parameters of the dynamical system. In the time dependent model, we follow the evolution of orbits as the galaxy develops a dense and massive nucleus in its core, as mass is transported exponentially from the disk to the galactic center. We apply the classical method of the Poincaré (r,p_r) phase plane, in order to distinguish between ordered and chaotic motion. The Lyapunov Characteristic Exponent is used, to make an estimation of the degree of chaos in our galactic model and also to help us to study the time dependent model. In addition, we construct some numerical diagrams in which we present the correlations between the main parameters of our galactic model. Our numerical calculations indicate, that stars with values of angular momentum L_z less than or equal to a critical value L_zc, moving near to the galactic plane, are scattered to the halo upon encountering the nuclear region and subsequently display chaotic motion. A linear relationship exists between the critical value of the angular momentum L_zc and the mass of the nucleus M_n. Furthermore, the extent of the chaotic region increases as the value of the mass of the nucleus increases. Moreover, our simulations indicate that the degree of chaos increases linearly, as the mass of the nucleus increases. A comparison is made between the critical value L_zc and the circular angular momentum L_z0 at different distances from the galactic center. In the time dependent model, there are orbits that change their orbital character from regular to chaotic and vise versa and also orbits that maintain their character during the galactic evolution. These results strongly indicate that the ordered or chaotic nature of orbits, depends on the presence of massive objects in the galactic cores of the galaxies. Our results suggest, that for disk galaxies with massive and prominent nuclei, the low angular momentum stars in the associated central regions of the galaxy, must be in predominantly chaotic orbits. Some theoretical arguments to support the numerically derived outcomes are presented. Comparison with similar previous works is also made.     

A new dynamical model for the study of galactic structure

In the present article, we present a new gravitational galactic model, describing motion in elliptical as well as in disk galaxies, by suitably choosing the dynamical parameters. Moreover, a new dynamical parameter, the S(g) spectrum, is introduced and used, in order to detect islandic motion of resonant orbits and the evolution of the sticky regions. We investigate the regular or chaotic character of motion, with emphasis in the different dynamical models and make an extensive study of the sticky regions of the system. We use the classical method of the Poincaré r ? p_r phase plane and the new dynamical parameter of the S(g) spectrum. The L.C.E is used, in order to make an estimation of the degree of chaos in our galactic model. In both cases, the numerical calculations, suggest that our new model, displays a wide variety of families of regular orbits, compared to other galactic models. In addition to the regular motion, this new model displays also chaotic regions. Furthermore, the extent of the chaotic regions increases, as the value of the flatness parameter b of the model increases. Moreover, our simulations indicate, that the degree of chaos in elliptical galaxies, is much smaller than that in dense disk galaxies. In both cases numerical calculations show, that the degree of chaos increases linearly, as the flatness parameter b increases. In addition, a linear relationship between the critical value of angular momentum and the b parameter if found, in both cases (elliptical and disk galaxies). Some theoretical arguments to support the numerical outcomes are presented. Comparison with earlier work is also made.     

Neutrino radiation from a collapsing galactic nucleus

We discuss the possible observational manifestation of the formation of massive black holes in galactic nuclei in the form of an intense high-energy neutrino flux. A short-lived (≤10 yr) hidden neutrino source results from the natural dynamicalal evolution of a central star cluster in the galactic nucleus before its gravitational collapse. The central star cluster at the final evolutionary stage consists of degenerate compact stars (neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes) and is embedded in a massive gaseous envelope produced by destructive collisions of normal stars. Multiple fireballs from frequent collisions of neutron stars give rise to a tenuous quasi-stationary cavity in the central part of the massive envelope. The cavity is filled with shock waves on which an effective cosmic-ray acceleration takes place. Allthe accelerated particles, except the secondary high-energy neutrinos, are absorbed in the dense envelope. The neutrino signal that carries information on the dynamicals of the collapsing galactic nucleus can be recorded by a neutrino detector with an effective area S∼1 km².     

Spectra of quasiperiodic oscillations of galactic X-ray sources–dynamical regimes from a simple model

We suggest that the dynamical regime(s) underlying quasi-periodic oscillations observed in the spectra of bright galactic-bulge X-ray sources are nonlinear with a mixed phase space. The important feature of such regimes is that they are generic among nonlinear Hamiltonian and nearly Hamiltonian systems of more than two degrees of freedom. We give a simple example of such chaotic (deterministic) systems whose spectra share a number of features with those observed for quasiperiodic oscillations of such sources.     

A new dynamical spectrum for galactic potentials

We investigate the properties of motion, using the distribution of the values of a new dynamical parameter, in two different galactic potentials. The first is a potential made up of harmonic oscillators while the second is a logarithmic potential. We call the distribution functions of the new parameter the S(r) dynamical spectrum. A comparison between the spectrum of stretching numbers S(α) and the new spectrum is made. The results of our numerical calculations suggest that the S(r) spectrum is a better discriminant between different types of orbits while requiring considerable less computation time. An application of the new dynamical spectrum to barred galaxy models is also presented.     

Chandra unveils a binary active galactic nucleus in Mrk 463

We analyse Chandra , XMM–Newton and Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) data of the double-nucleus Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy (ULIRG), Mrk 463. The Chandra detection of two luminous  ( L _2–10 keV= 1.5 × 10⁴³  and  3.8 × 10⁴² erg cm⁻² s⁻¹)  , unresolved nuclei in Mrk 463 indicates that this galaxy hosts a binary active galactic nucleus (AGN), with a projected separation of ≃3.8 kpc (  3.83 ± 0.01  arcsec). While the East nucleus was already known to be a type 2 Seyfert (and this is further confirmed by our Chandra detection of a neutral iron line), this is the first unambiguous evidence in favour of the AGN nature of the West nucleus. Mrk 463 is therefore the clearest case so far for a binary AGN, after NGC 6240.     

Chemical and dynamical evolution of galactic discs

The relative roles of star formation and viscosly-induced radial flows in galactic discs are discussed. It is shown that the present-day distributions of stars, gas, and metals in galactic spirals need not reflect initial conditions but may instead indicate a cooperation between star forming and viscous processes over the disc lifetime.     

The orbits of moving clusters in the galactic dynamical models

It is generally accepted that structure formed in the matter dominated Universe, for obvious reasons. In this paper, we would like to suggest an alternate theory: that structure could have formed in the radiation dominated Universe if it was protected from destruction. This protection is envisioned as a crystal, of sorts, made up of primordial black holes (PBH's), which form a cavitation into which any matter particles in the nucleosynthesis period of the Universe (around 100 seconds after the Big Bang) could have taken refuge. A sort of oasis in a sea of radiation. Such a scenario could solve several problems in cosmology, namely: how matter got a foot-hold over anti-matter in the Universe; the structure/galaxy formation problem; and possibly suggest ideas on the gamma-ray count and distribution.     

Gravitational stability and dynamical overheating of galactic stellar disks

Stellar velocity dispersion data at galactocentric distance of two disk radial scale lengths (R = 2h), available in the literature allowed us to determine the upper limits of disk local surface densities at a given R and (by extrapolation) total masses of disks proceeding from the marginal gravitational stability condition. A comparison of the obtained disk masses with the photometric estimates based on the stellar population models indicates the absence of strong dynamical overheating inmost spiral galaxies and hence the absence of significant major merging events, which were able to heat dynamically the inner parts of disks. The same conclusion is valid for some of S0 galaxies. However, a significant part of the latter possesses stellar velocity dispersion, which exceeds the threshold value needed for gravitational stability. Dynamically overheated disks occur both among paired and isolated galaxies. Disk to total mass ratios within R = 4h found for marginally stable disks in most cases lie in the range 0.5–0.8 with the absence of the clearly defined correlation of this ratio with color index or morphological type.     

Chaos in a quartic dynamical model

We study the orbital characteristics of a time independent, two dimensional quartic dynamical model with two exact periodic orbits that displays always closed zero velocity curves. It is shown that the stability of the periodic orbits depends on the value of the coupling parameter . Computer calculations suggest that the degree of stochasticity is small for the values of in the range 1<<3 while it grows rapidly when >3. We also compute the Lyapunov characteristic exponents for different values of the coupling parameter.     

Cooling flows as a calorimeter of active galactic nucleus mechanical power

The assumption that radiative cooling of gas in the centres of galaxy clusters is approximately balanced by energy input from a central supermassive black hole implies that the observed X-ray luminosity of the cooling flow region sets a lower limit on active galactic nucleus (AGN) mechanical power. The conversion efficiency of the mechanical power of the AGN into gas heating is uncertain, but we argue that it can be high even in the absence of strong shocks. These arguments inevitably lead to the conclusion that the time-averaged mechanical power of AGNs in cooling flows is much higher than the bolometric luminosity of these objects observed currently.
The energy balance between cooling losses and AGN mechanical power requires some feedback mechanism. We consider a toy model in which the accretion rate on to a black hole is set by the classic Bondi formula. Application of this model to the best studied case of M87 suggests that accretion proceeds at approximately the Bondi rate down to a few gravitational radii with most of the power (at the level of a few per cent of the rest mass) being carried away by an outflow.     

A possible active galactic nucleus in M82?

MERLIN and VLA observations of the galaxy M82 have detected a jet-like feature emanating from one of the compact sources, 44.01+59.6. The proximity of this source to the dynamical centre of M82 led us to suspect that it could be a weak active nucleus rather than an SNR. We imaged this source using the EVN at 15 mas and although it shows a compact shell-like structure which could be consistent with an SNR, we note that the EVN image shows a bright region within the source which is elongated along the jet direction. There are distinct similarities between this source and the Sgr A complex at the centre of our own Galaxy which contains the compact AGN, Sgr A^*.     

Dynamics of double open clusters in the galactic field

Data from catalogs of multiple open star clusters (OSCs) have been used to compile a list of double and triple OSCs. Seven pairs of young OSCs with similar ages of their components have been selected from them. The dynamical evolution of the selected pairs of clusters in the Galactic gravitational field has been simulated numerically. The individual cluster masses have been estimated and the time dependences of the separations between the clusters have been constructed. The separations between the clusters are shown to exceed the tidal cluster radii. Various hypotheses of the origin of double OSCs are discussed: chance formations of pairs, formation within the same star complex, etc.