The geometry of phase mixing |
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| Authors: | Scott Tremaine |
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| Institution: | Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001, USA |
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| Abstract: | Partially phase-mixed structures in galaxies occupy a complex surface of dimension D in six-dimensional phase space. The appearance of such structures to observers is determined by their projection into a space the dimensionality K of which is determined by the number of observables (e.g. sky position, distance, radial velocity, etc.). We discuss the expected dimensionality of phase-space structures and suggest that the most prominent features in surveys with K  D will be stable singularities (catastrophes). The simplest of these are the shells seen in the outer parts of elliptical galaxies. |
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| Keywords: | galaxies: formation galaxies: kinematics and dynamics galaxies: structure |
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