Workshop details
The study of galactic dynamics is crucial for understanding the formation and ongoing evolution of galaxies. It enables us to determine the total mass of the stellar system, constrain the dark matter distribution, the initial mass function and central black hole masses.
Triaxial Schwarzschild orbit-based dynamical models, while successfully used for numerous scientific projects over the last 15 years, were only recently used to model a large number of galaxies (first used for ~300 galaxies from the CALIFA survey, ~150 from the MaNGA survey and ~160 from the SAMI surveys). With new data coming from state-of-the-art IFS surveys such as MAGPI and HECTOR, being able to exploit all the information we can derive from good quality data is crucial.
DYNAMITE (DYnamics, Age and Metallicity Indicators Tracing Evolution) is a next generation implementation of the Schwarzschild technique for orbit-based dynamical modelling of stellar systems. DYNAMITE’s great versatility makes it the perfect tool for a vast variety of projects and astronomical fields. Our code first computes a library of tens of thousands of stellar orbits and then finds the orbital weights that yield the best-fit to the projected stellar light and motions of nearby galaxies as observed with state-of-the art spectrographs. The resulting best-fit models allow us to infer the luminous as well as dark matter distribution of the galaxies, including central black holes and dark haloes. Moreover, the orbit-based reconstruction provides a direct insight into the assembly history of galaxies.
This workshop will provide the tools to enable scientists to use such a powerful technique in their research, maximising their research outputs.
When: 5th-9th December 2022
Where: Perth, Western Australia
Organizers
The DYNAMITE Workshop is being organized by Giulia Santucci (UWA, Perth), Sabine Thater (UniVie, Vienna), Prashin Jethwa (UniVie, Vienna), Glenn van de Ven (UniVie, Vienna), Claudia Lagos (UWA, Perth), Alice Zocchi (UniVie, Vienna), Tadeja Veršič (UniVie, Vienna) and Christine Ackerl (UniVie, Vienna). The organizers are grateful for support from the following sponsors:
