Abstract
The theoretical foundation of a new N-body simulation method for the dynamics of large numbers (N > 106) of gravitating bodies is described. The new approach is founded on the probability description of the physical parameters and a similarity method which permits a manifold reduction of the calculation time for the evolution of “large” systems. This is done by averaging the results of calculations over an ensemble of many “small” systems with total particle number in the ensemble equal to the number of stars in the large system. The method is valid for the approximate calculation of the evolution of large systems, including dissipative systems like AGN containing a supermassive black hole, accretion disc, and the surrounding stellar cluster.