Fc. Wachlin et S. Ferrazmello, FREQUENCY MAP ANALYSIS OF THE ORBITAL STRUCTURE IN ELLIPTIC GALAXIES, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 298(1), 1998, pp. 22-32
We present an application of the frequency map analysis to an elliptic
al galaxy which is represented by a generalization of a double-power-l
aw spherical mass model. The density distribution of this model varies
as r(-gamma) close to the centre and as r(-4) at large radii. We stud
y the case with gamma = 1, which is known as the 'weak-cusp' model and
which represents well the density profile of the 'core' galaxies obse
rved by the Hubble Space Telescope. The final objective of our work is
to improve our understanding of the dynamics of elliptical galaxies i
n a similar way to Merritt & Fridman, finding the regions of stochasti
city, looking for resonances that might play an important role in sust
aining the triaxial morphology, and analysing the diffusion of orbits.
To this end, we use the frequency map analysis of Laskar, which has b
een applied widely in the field of celestial mechanics but which is a
relatively new technique in the area of galactic dynamics. Finally, we
show some useful features of this method in understanding the global
dynamical structure of the system.