2010/02/05 by Ann-Marie Madigan, Madigan, Ann-Marie
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) #Cluster (spacecraft) #Computer science #FOS: Physical sciences #Instability #Instability strip #Mechanics #Physics #Stars #Stellar collision #Stellar evolution #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1002.1277
Proceedings article to be published in "The Galactic Center: A Window on the Nuclear Environment of Disk Galaxies", ed. Mark Morris, Daniel Q. Wang and Feng Yuan
arxiv created 2010/02/05 · openalex publication_date 2010/02/05 · arxiv updated 2010/02/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In this paper we revisit the "eccentric disc instability", an instability which occurs in coherently eccentric discs of stars orbiting massive black holes (MBHs) embedded in stellar clusters, which results in stars achieving either very high or low eccentricities. The preference for stars to attain higher or lower eccentricities depends significantly on the density distribution of the surrounding stellar cluster. Here we discuss its mechanism and the implications for the Galactic Centre, home to at least one circum-MBH stellar disc.