Related papers: MOCCA code for star cluster simulations - VI. Bimo…
We introduce an improved code for simulations of star clusters, called MOCCA. It combines the Monte Carlo method for star cluster evolution and the Fewbody code to perform scattering experiments. The Fewbody was added in order to track more…
We investigate the evolution of the radial distribution of Blue Straggler Stars through a set of Monte Carlo simulations of star clusters under a variety of initial conditions. We used a novel technique based on the "artificial…
This chapter explores how we might use the observed {\em statistics} of blue stragglers in globular clusters to shed light on their formation. This means we will touch on topics also discussed elsewhere in this book, such as the discovery…
For a sample of 38 Galactic globular clusters (GCs), we confront the observed distributions of blue straggler (BS) proper motions and masses (derived from isochrone fitting) from the BS catalog of Simunovic & Puzia with theoretical…
We created artificial color-magnitude diagrams of Monte Carlo dynamical models of globular clusters, and then used observational methods to determine the number of blue stragglers in those clusters. We compared these blue stragglers to…
The shape of the radial distribution of Blue Straggler Stars (BSS), when normalized to a reference population of Horizontal Branch (HB) stars, has been found to be a powerful indicator of the dynamical evolution reached by a Globular…
We present a detailed investigation of the radial distribution of blue straggler star and binary populations in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 5466, over the entire extension of the system. We used a combination of data acquired with the…
We have surveyed the blue straggler star population of the Galactic globular cluster M5 using high-resolution images of the core along with wide-field ground-based images reaching to more than 19 core radii. To gauge M5's relative…
The paper presents an analysis of properties of populations of blue stragglers (BSs) in evolving globular clusters, based on numerical simulations done with the MOCCA code for various initial globular clusters conditions. We find that…
We discuss a new scenario for the formation of intermediate mass black holes in dense star clusters. In this scenario, intermediate mass black holes are formed as a result of dynamical interactions of hard binaries containing a stellar mass…
The formation of blue stragglers is still not completely understood, particularly the relationship between formation environment and mechanism. We use a large, homogeneous sample of blue stragglers in the cores of 57 globular clusters to…
We present semi-analytical models and simplified $N$-body simulations with $10^4$ and $10^5$ particles aimed at probing the role of dynamical friction (DF) in determining the radial distribution of Blue Straggler Stars (BSSs) in globular…
In globular clusters, blue straggler stars are heavier than the average star, so dynamical friction strongly affects them. The radial distribution of BSS, normalized to a reference population, appears bimodal in a fraction of Galactic GCs,…
The dynamical evolution of globular clusters is theoretically described by a series of well known events typical of N-body systems. Still, the identification of observational signatures able to empirically describe the stage of dynamical…
We have used high resolution WFPC2-HST and wide field ground-based observations to construct a catalog of blue straggler stars (BSS) in the globular cluster 47 Tuc spanning the entire radial extent of the cluster. The BSS distribution is…
We present an analytic model for blue straggler formation in globular clusters. We assume that blue stragglers are formed only through stellar collisions and binary star evolution, and compare our predictions to observed blue straggler…
We outline the steps needed in order to incorporate the evolution of single and binary stars into a particular Monte Carlo code for the dynamical evolution of a star cluster. We calibrate the results against N-body simulations, and present…
We present a state-of-the-art N-body code which includes a detailed treatment of stellar and binary evolution as well as the cluster dynamics. This code is ideal for investigating all aspects relating to the evolution of star clusters and…
We describe a major upgrade of a Monte Carlo code which has previously been used for many studies of dense star clusters. We outline the steps needed in order to calibrate the results of the new Monte Carlo code against $N$-body simulations…
A primary production mechanism for blue stragglers in globular clusters is thought to be collisionally-induced mergers, perhaps mediated by dynamical encounters involving binary stars. We model the formation and evolution of such blue…