This research monograph presents a new dynamical framework for the study of secular morphological evolution of galaxies along the Hubble sequence. Classical approaches based on Boltzmann¿s kinetic equation, as well as on its moment-equation descendants the Euler and Navier-Stokes fluid equations, are inadequate for treating the maintenance and long-term evolution of systems containing self-organized structures such as galactic density-wave modes. A global and synthetic approach, incorporating correlated fluctuations of the constituent particles during a nonequilibrium phase transition, is adopted to supplement the continuum treatment. The cutting-edge research combining analytical, N-body simulational, and observational aspects, as well as the fundamental-physics connections it provides, make this work a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, many-body physics, complexity theory, and other related fields.
Contents
Dynamical Drivers of Galaxy Evolution
N-Body Simulations of Galaxy Evolution
Astrophysical Implications of the Dynamical Theory
Putting It All Together
Concluding Remarks
Appendix: Relation to Kinetics and Fluid Mechanics

Xiaolei Zhang, George Mason University, USA

Content Preface page1 Introduction1.1 Observational Background1.2 Theoretical Background1.3 Organization of the Material 2 Drivers of Secular Morphological Evolution of Galaxies2.1 Motivations for the Theoretical Approach2.2 Density Wave Crest as the Site of Gravitational Instability2.3 Potential-Density Phase Shifts for Density Wave Modes2.4 Linear Regime and Quasi-Steady State of the Wave Modes2.5 Torque Coupling and Angular Momentum Transport2.6 Rates of Secular Evolution2.7 Relation to ¿Broadening of Resonances¿2.8 In a Nutshell 3 Verification of Analytical Results through N-Body Simulations3.1 Overview of the N-Body Simulations of Disk Galaxies3.2 Simulation Codes and Basic State Specifications3.3 Signature of Collisionless Shock in N-Body Spirals3.4 Modal Nature of a Spontaneously-Formed Pattern3.5 Qualitative Signature of Secular Mass Redistribution3.6 Longevity of the Spiral Modes3.7 Role of Gas3.8 Implication on Orbits as ¿Building Blocks¿3.9 Second Generation Tests 4 Astrophysical Implications of the New Dynamical Theory4.1 Motivations and General Outline4.2 Potential-Density Phase Shift (PDPS) Method for CR Determination4.3 Secular Mass Migration and Bulge Building4.4 Secular Heating and The Age-Velocity-Dispersion Relation4.5 Secular Heating and the Size-Linewidth Relation4.6 Other Characteristics of the Milky Way Galaxy and External Galaxies4.7 Universal Rotation Curve4.8 Secular Evolution and the Maintenance of Galaxy Scaling Relations4.9 Butcher-Oemler Effect and Evolution of Cluster Galaxies4.10 Secular Evolution and the Origin of Color-Magnitude Relation4.11 An Example of Secular Evolution in Interacting Galaxies4.12 Black-Hole-Mass and Bulge-Mass Correlation 5 Putting in All Together: What We Have Learned So Far5.1 Reexamine the Foundations5.2 Role of Basic State Specification5.3 Broader Implications5.4 Implications on the Cosmological Evolution of Galaxies 6 Concluding Remarks 7 Appendix. Nonequilibrium Phase Transition and Classical Mechanics7.1 Foundation of Kinetic Theory: the Boltzmann Equation7.2 From Kinetic Theory to Fluid Mechanics7.3 Nonequilibrium Phase Transition and Galaxy Evolution7.4 The Proper Choice of Hierarchies 8 References