Chaotic Dynamics in a Galactic Multipolar Halo with a Compact Primary

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex and chaotic stellar dynamics near galactic centers with multipolar halos and compact objects using advanced nonlinear tools, revealing how multipolar moments and spin influence orbital behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of stellar orbits in multipolar halo models with spin, employing the SALI method to classify orbit types, which had not been previously explored.

Findings

Chaos arises naturally from non-central forces.

SALI effectively categorizes orbit types in complex potentials.

Multipolar moments and spin significantly influence orbital dynamics.

Abstract

Observational evidence strongly supports the existence of a Super Massive Black Hole (SMBH) at the Galactic center, surrounded by dense stellar clusters. Modeling galactic centers with intricate structures like shells and rings pose challenges, prompting the use of simplified models such as a spherical monopole potential with a multipolar halo mass distribution. This approach, employing a multipolar expansion model, provides versatility for numerical analyses, revealing the complex dynamics of stars in this region. Pseudo-Potentials like Paczynsky-Wiita and Artemova-Bjornsson-Novikov are utilized to simulate the impacts of strong gravity from non-rotating and rotating compact objects respectively, elucidating their influence on stellar dynamics. Chaos naturally arises due to non-central forces, visualized using the Poincar\'e section technique. Of particular importance is the utilization of the Smaller Alignment Index (SALI), a powerful nonlinear dynamical tool, which categorizes particle orbits as escaping, regular, sticky, or chaotic. We exhaustively examine all combinations of multipolar moments up to the octupolar term along with spin using this tool, which had not been studied earlier. SALI provides a straightforward yet efficient method for assessing the interplay between the system's different multipolar moments, their combinations, and spin. Thus, our findings offer insights into the dynamics of compact objects enshrouded in a halo mass distribution and lay the groundwork for understanding complex astrophysical systems in galactic centers.