Authors:
- Nominated as an outstanding PhD thesis by the Institute of Astrophysics of Paris, France
- Discusses analytical methods for exploring the secular evolution of self-gravitating systems
- Shows how diffusive processes shape the phase space structure of galaxies and star clusters
- Presents the first effective implementation of the inhomogeneous Balescu–Lenard equation
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Springer Theses (Springer Theses)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
About this book
Tackling galactic evolution in a truly novel way, this outstanding thesis statistically explores the long-term evolution of galaxies, using recent theoretical breakthroughs that explicitly account for their self-gravity. While treating processes statistically, the astrophysical differences on each scale are also captured.
As the archetype of self-amplified diffusion, the implications of the thesis go far beyond astrophysics. Gravity is the driving force in galaxies, from their far outskirts to their innermost cores. These “extended kinetic theories” offer unique physical insights into the competing dynamical processes at play, complementing N-body approaches.
The thesis successfully gauges the role of nature and nurture in establishing the galaxies’ observed properties, using kinetic equations to capture both sources of fluctuations. Further, it shows how secular diffusion shapes the phase space structure of cold stellar disks. The thesis subsequently determines the characteristic timescales and examines the signatures of secular evolution in this framework on two scales: from the kinetic evolution in galactic disks and their thickening via giant molecular clouds; all the way down to the stellar resonant relaxation of the central cluster and its black hole.
Authors and Affiliations
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Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA
Jean-Baptiste Fouvry
About the author
Jean-Baptiste Fouvry received his PhD from the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris in 2016.
His supervisors were Christophe Pichon (IAP) and James Binney (Oxford).
He is currently a NASA Hubble fellow working at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Secular Evolution of Self-Gravitating Systems Over Cosmic Age
Authors: Jean-Baptiste Fouvry
Series Title: Springer Theses
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66760-7
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-66759-1Published: 18 October 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-88315-1Published: 18 May 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-66760-7Published: 09 October 2017
Series ISSN: 2190-5053
Series E-ISSN: 2190-5061
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 274
Number of Illustrations: 41 b/w illustrations, 47 illustrations in colour
Topics: Astrophysics and Astroparticles, Cosmology