Collective relaxation of stellar systems revisited

Abstract

The chaos in stellar systems is studied using the theory of dynamical systems and the Van Kampen stochastic differential equation approach. The exponential instability (chaos) of spherical N-body gravitating systems, already known previously, is confirmed. The characteristic timescale of that instability is estimated confirming the collective relaxation time obtained by means of the Maupertuis principle. © 2009 ESO.