We describe a new iterative approach for the realization of equilibrium N-body systems for given density distributions. Our method uses elements of Schwarzschild's technique and of the made-to-measure method, but is based on a different principle. Starting with some initial assignment of particle velocities, the difference of the time-averaged density response produced by the particle orbits with respect to the initial density configuration is characterized through a merit function, and a stationary solution of the collisionless Boltzmann equation is found by minimizing this merit function directly by iteratively adjusting the initial velocities. Because the distribution function is in general not unique for a given density structure, we augment the merit function with additional constraints that single out a desired target solution. The velocity adjustment is carried out with a stochastic process in which new velocities are randomly drawn from an approximate solution of the distribution function, but are kept only when they improve the fit. Our method converges rapidly and is flexible enough to allow the construction of solutions with third integrals of motion, including disc galaxies in which radial and vertical dispersions are different. A parallel code for the calculation of compound galaxy models with this new method is made publicly available.

We employ an improved methodology to insert live stellar discs into high-resolution dark matter simulations of Milky Way-sized haloes, allowing us to investigate the fate of thin stellar discs in the tumultuous environment of cold dark matter structures. We study a set of eight different haloes, drawn from the Aquarius simulation project, in which stellar discs are adiabatically grown with a prescribed structure, and then allowed to self-consistently evolve. The initial velocity distribution is set-up in very good equilibrium with the help of the galic code. We find that the residual triaxiality of the haloes leads to significant disc tumbling, qualitatively confirming earlier work. We show that the disc turning motion is unaffected by structural properties of the galaxies such as the presence or absence of a bulge or bar. In typical Milky Way-sized dark matter haloes, we expect an average turning of the discs by about 40°between z = 1 and 0, over the course of 7.6 Gyr. We also investigate the impact of the discs on substructures, and conversely, the disc heating rate caused by the dark matter halo substructures. The presence of discs reduces the central subhalo abundance by a about a factor of 2, due to an increased evaporation rate by gravitational shocks from disc passages. We find that substructures are important for heating the outer parts of stellar discs but do not appear to significantly affect their inner parts.

Aims. We carry out the self-consistent dynamic evolution of the orbital structure of Milky Way globular clusters. This allows us to estimate possible and probable close passages and even collisions of the clusters with each other. Methods. We reproduced the orbits of 147 globular clusters in 10 Gyr lookback time using our own high-order N-body parallel dynamic φ-GPU code. The initial conditions (three coordinates and three velocities for the present time) were derived from the Gaia DR3 catalogue. For each of the GCs, 1000 initial conditions were additionally generated, taking the Gaia measurement errors into account. The galaxy is represented by five external potentials from the IllustrisTNG-100, whose masses and sizes of the disk and halo components are similar to the physical values of the Milky Way at present. Results. We present a statistical analysis of the cumulative close passages rate: About ten close passages with relative distances shorter than 50 pc for every billion years for each of the five external potentials. We present the 22 most reliable collision pairs with a good probability. As an example: Terzan 4 vs. Terzan 2 (49%), Terzan 4 vs. NGC 6624 (44%), Terzan 4 vs. Terzan 5 (40%), Terzan 4 vs. NGC 6440 (40%), and Terzan 4 vs. Liller 1 (42%). The most active globular cluster in the collision sense is Terzan 4, which has 5.65 collision events on average (averaged over all individual 1000 initial condition realisations). Most collisions are located inside the Galactic disk and form two ring-like structures. The first ring-like structure has the highest collision number density at ∼1 kpc, and the second sturcture has a maximum at ∼2 kpc. Conclusions. Based on our numerical simulations, we can conclude that the few dozen Milky Way globular clusters probably undergo some close encounters and even possible collisions during their lifetimes, which can significantly affect their individual dynamical evolution and possibly even their stellar content.

We present a simple method for estimating fundamental frequencies from orbit’s time series of triaxial dynamical systems based on the zero-crossing technique. The simplicity and high performance of the method make it a viable alternative to more advanced, but rather complex and computationally expensive techniques based on Fourier spectral analysis and iterative torus-mapping with action-angle variables. More importantly, the method provides a simple and quick way to identify irregular orbits and quantify their level of chaoticity, allowing to detect even a subtle onset of chaos. To validate the proposed algorithm, we performed comparison tests with synthetic quasi-periodic signals and with other methods using the triaxial Dehnen potential. We found noticeable differences in frequency maps constructed with our method and methods based on Fourier spectral analysis that we attributed to the way we assign static properties to chaotic orbits. At the same time, our frequency maps turn out to be in very good agreement with the maps obtained using the action-based technique.

We present the conceptual framework of the Astronomical Hub (AstroHub), a unified platform combining various optical instruments at a single observatory. Its major approach lies in arranging conditions for research groups to install telescopes and equipment and participate in joint projects. AstroHub is planned to integrate Virtual Observatory (VO) tools, FAIR data principles, and a telescope network to create a powerful and attractive ecosystem for both robust near-Earth object (NEO) monitoring and diverse deep space research. We provide an overview of the AstroHub development directions in the case study of the Assy-Turgen Observatory.