Regular and chaotic motion in elliptical galaxies

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Author: Muzzio, Juan C
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 27.02.2008
• Subjects: Angular momentum; Collapse; Elliptical galaxies; Frequency analysis; Orbits; Physics - Astrophysics of Galaxies; Physics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics; Physics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics; Physics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena; Physics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics; Physics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics; Rotation; Space telescopes; Stellar systems
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.0802.4025

Here I review recent work, by other authors and by myself, on some particular topics related to the regular and chaotic motion in elliptical galaxies. I show that it is quite possible to build highly stable triaxial stellar systems that include large fractions of chaotic orbits and that partially and fully chaotic orbits fill different regions of space, so that it is important not to group them together under the single denomination of chaotic orbits. Partially chaotic orbits should not be confused with weakly fully chaotic orbits either, and their spatial distributions are also different. Slow figure rotation (i.e., rotation in systems with zero angular momentum) seems to be always present in highly flattened models that result from cold collapses, with the rotational velocity diminishing or becoming negligibly small for less flattened models. Finally, I comment on the usefulness and limitation of the classification of regular orbits via frequency analysis.