Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: We give an algorithm for the economical calculation of angles and actions for stars in axisymmetric potentials. We test the algorithm by integrating orbits in a realistic model of the Galactic potential, and find that, even for orbits characteristic of thick-disc stars, the errors in the actions are typically smaller than 2 per cent. We describe a scheme for obtaining actions by interpolation on tabulated values that significantly accelerates the process of calculating observables quantities, such as density and velocity moments, from a distribution function.
Author: James Binney
Institution: University of Oxford
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G18152376, G3211719080, G8393625025
OpenAlex ID: W2110010704