 Collisionless stellar system

A collisionless stellar system is one for which discrete gravitational encounters change its distribution negligibly over the time under study, usually $T\ll t_{\mathrm{rel}}$. Stars can orbit and respond collectively to a varying smooth gravitational potential even in this regime; collisionless does not mean force-free or stable against collective gravitational instabilities. Its smooth distribution follows the Collisionless Boltzmann equation.