Anna Lisa Varri (Edinburgh)
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Anna Lisa Varri (Edinburgh)
November 10, 2021 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm UTC+0
The dynamics of rotating stellar systems and their black holes
The study of self-gravitating rotating bodies is a classical fluid dynamics problem with a distinguished history, yet the equilibrium and stability of rotating spheroidal stellar systems have rarely been explored. After introducing some basic mathematical modelling tools in stellar dynamics, I will present a family of self-consistent equilibria describing uniformly rotating, axisymmetric quasi-relaxed stellar systems. Such equilibria define a singular perturbation Vlasov-Poisson problem with a free boundary which can be approached by means of an asymptotic expansion based on the rotation strength parameter. I will then illustrate a generalisation to the case of stellar systems with central black holes, for which a novel treatment of the boundary conditions of the relevant Poisson equation allows for a solution with matched asymptotics. I will conclude by discussing the astrophysical relevance of such results in the current era of black holes images and gravitational waves detection.