Escape from a rotating barred galaxy

Abstract

We study the dynamics in the outer regions of a rotating barred galaxy and in particular, we observe the escape of a test particle from the gravitational potential of the galaxy. The acceleration mechanism of the test particle is a close encounter with one of the ends of the bar with the right relative phase of the position of the bar. This is a possible mechanism for the creation of high-velocity stars, i.e. stars with an energy sufficient to escape from the galaxy. Our results suggest that good candidates for high-velocity stars accelerated by this mechanism are the old low-mass high-velocity stars moving close to the disc. We will encounter the asymptotic dynamics which leads naturally to the study of a type of Poincaré map which can be reinterpreted as a scattering map. Thereby an iterated scattering map enters the picture in a quite natural form. The present work is a supplement to previous work on the dynamics in the inner region of the same model.