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 disk 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 disks into high-resolution dark matter simulations of Milky Way sized halos, allowing us to investigate the fate of thin stellar disks in the tumultuous environment of cold dark matter structures. We study a set of eight different halos, drawn from the Aquarius simulation project, in which stellar disks 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 halos leads to significant disk tumbling, qualitatively confirming earlier work. We show that the disk 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 halos, we expect an average turning of the disks by about 40 degrees between z = 1 and z = 0, over the coarse of 7.6 Gyr. We also investigate the impact of the disks on substructures, and conversely, the disk heating rate caused by the dark matter halo substructures. The presence of disks reduces the central subhalo abundance by a about a factor of two, due to an increased evaporation rate by gravitational shocks from disk passages. We find that substructures are important for heating the outer parts of stellar disks but do not appear to significantly affect their inner parts.

We investigate the dynamical interaction of a central star cluster surrounding a supermassive black hole (SMBH) and a central accretion disk (AD). The dissipative force acting on stars in the disk leads to an enhanced mass flow toward the SMBH and to an asymmetry in the phase space distribution due to the rotating AD. The AD is considered as a stationary Keplerian rotating disk, which is vertically extended in order to employ a fully self-consistent treatment of stellar dynamics including the dissipative force originating from star-gas ram pressure effects. The stellar system is treated with a direct high-accuracy N-body integration code. A star-by-star representation, desirable in N-body simulations, cannot be extended to real particle numbers yet. Hence, we carefully discuss the scaling behavior of our model with regard to particle number and tidal accretion radius. The main idea is to find a family of models for which the ratio of two-body relaxation time and dissipation time (for kinetic energy of stellar orbits) is constant, which then allows us to extrapolate our results to real parameters of galactic nuclei. Our model is derived from basic physical principles and as such it provides insight into the role of physical processes in galactic nuclei, but it should be regarded as a first step toward more realistic and more comprehensive simulations. Nevertheless, the following conclusions appear to be robust: the star accretion rate onto the AD and subsequently onto the SMBH is enhanced by a significant factor compared to purely stellar dynamical systems neglecting the disk. This process leads to enhanced fueling of central disks in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and to an enhanced rate of tidal stellar disruptions. Such disruptions may produce electromagnetic counterparts in the form of observable X-ray flares. Our models improve predictions for their rates in quiescent galactic nuclei. We do not yet model direct stellar collisions in the gravitational potential well of the black hole, which could further enhance the growth rate of the black hole. Our models are relevant for quiescent galactic nuclei, because all our mass accretion rates would give rise to luminosities much smaller than the Eddington luminosity. To reach Eddington luminosities, outflows, and feedback as in the most active QSOs, other scenarios are needed, such as gas accretion after galaxy mergers. However, for AGNs close to the Eddington limit, this process may not serve as the dominant accretion process due to the long timescale.