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The evolution of molecular clouds in galactic centres is thought to differfrom that in galactic discs due to a significant influence of the externalgravitational potential. We present a set of numerical simulations of molecularclouds orbiting on the 100-pc stream of the Central Molecular Zone (the central$\sim500$ pc of the Galaxy) and characterise their morphological and kinematicevolution in response to the background potential and eccentric orbital motion.We find that the clouds are shaped by strong shear and torques, by tidal andgeometric deformation, and by their passage through the orbital pericentre.Within our simulations, these mechanisms control cloud sizes, aspect ratios,position angles, filamentary structure, column densities, velocity dispersions,line-of-sight velocity gradients, spin angular momenta, and kinematiccomplexity. By comparing these predictions to observations of clouds on theGalactic Centre 'dust ridge', we find that our simulations naturally reproducea broad range of key observed morphological and kinematic features, which canbe explained in terms of well-understood physical mechanisms. We argue that theaccretion of gas clouds onto the central regions of galaxies, where therotation curve turns over and the tidal field is fully compressive, isaccompanied by transformative dynamical changes to the clouds, leading tocollapse and star formation. This can generate an evolutionary progression ofcloud collapse with a common starting point, which either marks the time ofaccretion onto the tidally-compressive region or of the most recent pericentrepassage. Together, these processes may naturally produce the synchronisedstarbursts observed in numerous (extra)galactic nuclei.

The dynamical evolution of molecular clouds near the Galactic Centre - II. Spatial structure and kinematics of simulated clouds