Symmetry methods in galactic dynamics
- Author(s)
- Edward James Lilley
- Abstract
Notions of symmetry and integrability are ubiquitous in physics, and this is especially true when considering the dynamics of self-gravitating systems (e.g. galaxies). A central problem is the calculation of the normal modes of an equilibrium dynamical model. This talk will look at the role played by symmetries in the classification of coordinate systems appropriate for both the dynamical (Hamilton-Jacobi) and gravitational (Poisson) parts of the problem. The focus will be on recent results in the latter case -- in particular, symmetry operators that give rise to appropriate bases of orthogonal functions to represent perturbations of sphericallysymmetric, razor-thin disc, or slightly-thickened-disc galaxies (arxiv:2302.06944). Applications of the main mathematical results to other subfields of physics will also be discussed.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- Publication date
- 03-2024
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/96e41e19-1969-4b5a-9204-b7c583e76df4