The Gravitational MillionBody Problem

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Star Cluster Dynamics

Douglas Heggie, Piet Hut

372 pages, parution le 17/03/2003

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Résumé

The globular star clusters of the Milky Way contain hundreds of thousands of stars held together by gravitational interactions, and date from the time when the Milky Way was forming. This text describes the theory astronomers need for studying globular star clusters. The gravitational million-body problem is an idealised model for understanding the dynamics of a cluster with a million stars. After introducing the million-body problem from various view-points, the book systematically develops the tools needed for studying the million-body problems in nature, and introduces the most important theoretical models. Including a comprehensive treatment of few-body interactions, and developing an intuitive but quantitative understanding of the three-body problem, the book introduces numerical methods, relevant software, and current problems. Suitable for graduate students and researchers in astrophysics and astronomy, this text also has important applications in the fields of theoretical physics, computational science and mathematics.

Contents

Part I. Introductions

Astrophysics introduction
Theoretical physics introduction
Computational physics introduction
Mathematical introduction

Part II. The Continuum Limit

Paradoxical thermodynamics
Statistical mechanics
Motion in a central potential
Some famous models
Methods

Part III. Mean Field Dynamics

Violent relaxation
Internal mass loss
External influences

Part IV. Microphysics

Exponential orbit instability
Two-body relaxation
From Kepler to Kustaanheimo

Part V. Gravothermodynamics

Escape and mass segregation
Gravothermal instability
Core collapse rate for star clusters

Part VI. Gravitational Scattering

Thought experiments
Mathematical three-body scattering
Analytical approximations
Laboratory experiments
Gravitational burning and transmutation

Part VII. Primordial Binaries

Binaries in star clusters
Triple formation and evolution
A non-renewable energy source

Part VIII. Post-Collapse Evolution

Surviving core collapse
Gravothermal oscillations
Dissolution

Part IX. Star Cluster Ecology

Stellar and dynamical evolution
Collisions and capture
Binary star evolution and blue stragglers
Star cluster evolution

Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Cambridge University Press
Auteur(s)	Douglas Heggie, Piet Hut
Parution	17/03/2003
Nb. de pages	372
Format	17,4 x 24,7
Couverture	Broché
Poids	792g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780521774864
ISBN13	978-0-521-77486-4