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arXiv · astro-ph/0007226

Superbox - An Efficient Code for Collisionless Galactic Dynamics

Abstract

We present Superbox, a particle-mesh code with high resolution sub-grids and an NGP (nearest grid point) force-calculation scheme based on the second derivatives of the potential. Superbox implements a fast low-storage FFT-algorithm, giving the possibility to work with millions of particles on desk-top computers. Test calculations show energy and angular momentum conservation to one part in 10^5 per crossing-time. The effects of grid and numerical relaxation remain negligible, even when these calculations cover a Hubble-time of evolution. As the sub-grids follow the trajectories of individual galaxies, the code allows a highly resolved treatment of interactions in clusters of galaxies, such as high-velocity encounters between elliptical galaxies and the tidal disruption of dwarf galaxies. Excellent agreement is obtained in a comparison with a direct-summation N-body code running on special-purpose Grape3 hardware. The orbital decay of satellite galaxies due to dynamical friction obtained with Superbox agrees with Chandrasekhar's treatment when the Coulomb logarithm is approximately 1.5.

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BibTeXRIS

M. Fellhauer, P. Kroupa, H. Baumgart, R. Bien, C. M. Boily, R. Spurzem, N. Wassmer. 2000-07-17. Superbox - An Efficient Code for Collisionless Galactic Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1384-1076(00)00032-4

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