State-of-the-art diagnostics for detecting gravitational instabilities in galaxy discs

by Prof. Alessandro Romeo (Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology)

Tuesday 16 Feb 2021, 11:00 → 13:00 Europe/Rome

INAF - OAPD

Gravitational instabilities play a primary role in shaping the structure and powering the star formation activity of disc galaxies.  We review the effort made by theorists to provide the astronomical community with reliable disc stability diagnostics.  The most well-known diagnostic is Toomre's Q parameter, but there are newer and more powerful tools for detecting gravitational instabilities in galaxy discs.  And a few of them are almost as easy to use as Toomre's Q.  In this talk, you will learn how to use such diagnostics in a variety of applications.