Dynamics and Statistical Mechanics of Keplerian Stellar Systems

Abstract

The nuclear star clusters (NSCs) orbiting massive blackholes (MBHs) at the centres of many galaxies are the densest known stellar systems, where the number density of stars can exceed those in globular clusters by a factor of 1000. The morphologies and kinematics of NSCs are varied (Seth et al., 2006), and questions concerning their dynamical evolution form the subject of this thesis. These are motivated by observations of the inner regions of the nearest two NSCs: the lopsided nuclear disc of M31 (Lauer et al., 1993), and the Milky Way NSC with its spheroid of old stars (Genzel et al., 2010) and a remnant disc of young stars (Yelda et al., 2014). The thesis explores the gravitational dynamics and kinetics of NSCs within the radius of influence of the MBH. The research presented is the first application of the general theory of secular dynamics and kinetics by Sridhar & Touma (2016a,b, 2017).