Astronomy & Space

Spinning compact object and chaos in galactic centres

How the science connects

Black holeCelestial mechanicsChaos theory

AI Insight

This study investigates how spinning supermassive black holes interact with asymmetric mass distributions in galactic centers to create chaotic particle orbits. Researchers used mathematical modeling combining a pseudo-Newtonian potential for the spinning black hole with a dipole-expanded halo distribution, analyzing the system through stability analysis and basin of convergence methods. Results demonstrate that black hole spin significantly alters the equilibrium structure and can either amplify or reduce chaos depending on its magnitude, providing new insights into relativistic effects on particle dynamics near galactic centers.


Understanding chaotic dynamics in galactic centers is crucial for predicting stellar orbits around supermassive black holes and interpreting observational data from facilities like the Event Horizon Telescope. This work may improve models of accretion processes, gravitational wave emission from extreme mass ratio inspirals, and the overall evolution of galactic nuclei.


⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed

Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.

Abstract: Galactic centres are extremely complex environments, consisting primarily of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) surrounded by asymmetric mass distributions such as nuclear star clusters (NSC) and molecular gas, which form disks or halos. Together these components exert a gravitational field which, combined with relativistic corrections from the spin of the SMBH, generates strongly nonlinear dynamics and chaotic orbits. We model this region using a multipolar expansion potential, in which the central compact object is represented by the Artemova-Bj”ornsson-Novikov pseudo-Newtonian potential, which mimics the spin dependence of a Kerr-like BH. The surrounding halo is modelled as an axisymmetric, shell-like mass distribution expanded to dipole order to induce asymmetry. Previous works have mostly quantified the chaos caused by the BH spin and dipole moment using Poincar’e sections, SALI and other chaos indicators. In this study, we incorporate stability analysis and Newton-Raphson basins of convergence to provide a global view of the dynamics of the system. Stability analysis around fixed points gives deeper insight into the local behaviour, while basins of convergence show sensitivity to initial conditions and reveal fractal boundaries. Our results show that the BH spin substantially reshapes the equilibrium landscape. Depending on its magnitude, it can either intensify the chaos induced by the halo asymmetry or simplify the phase space. These results improve our understanding of how relativistic spin effects and multipole moments collectively affect particle motion in galactic centres.

Source: Spinning compact object and chaos in galactic centres