Related papers: Diffusion and mixing in globular clusters
We consider both observational and theoretical issues related to dynamical mass loss from the old globular star clusters of the Galaxy. On the observational side the evidence includes tidal tails and extratidal extensions, kinematic…
By means of simple numerical models we discuss whether "collisionless stellar evaporation" from cluster elliptical galaxies could be an effective mechanism for the production of intracluster stellar populations. The effectiveness of this…
The present work extends and deepens previous examinations of the evolution of globular cluster orbits in elliptical galaxies, by means of numerical integrations of a wide set of orbits in 5 self-consistent triaxial galactic models…
The observed average lifetime of the population of star clusters in the Solar Neighbourhood, the Small Magellanic Cloud and in selected regions of M51 and M33 is compared with simple theoretical predictions and with the results of N-body…
Star formation is intimately linked to the dynamical evolution of molecular clouds. Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass via accretion from the surrounding cloud…
Quantifying the timescales of star cluster emergence from their natal clouds remains one of the main challenges in understanding the star formation process. These timescales are fundamental measurements of the star formation cycle within…
Globular clusters are dense stellar systems whose core slowly contracts under the effect of self-gravity. The rate of this process was recently found to be directly linked to the initial amount of velocity anisotropy: tangentially…
We study the rate of escape of stars (``evaporation'') from tidally-limited postcollapse globular clusters having a power-law distribution of stellar masses. We use a multi-mass Fokker-Planck code and assume a steady tidal field.…
Context: Star clusters form within giant molecular clouds that are strongly altered by the feedback action of the massive stars, but the cluster still remains embedded in a dense, highly turbulent medium and interactions with ambient…
Following the suggestion of Black (1997) that some massive extrasolar planets may be associated with the tail of the distribution of stellar companions, we investigate a scenario in which 5 < N < 100 planetary mass objects are assumed to…
Close encounters between stars in star forming regions are important as they can perturb or destroy protoplanetary discs, young planetary systems, and stellar multiple systems. We simulate simple, viralised, equal-mass $N$-body star…
We use direct $N$-body calculations to investigate the impact of primordial mass segregation on the size scale and mass-loss rate of star clusters in a galactic tidal field. We run a set of simulations of clusters with varying degrees of…
Context: Globular clusters (GCs) host multiple populations characterised by abundance variations in a number of light elements. In many cases, these populations also show spatial and/or kinematic differences, which vary in strength from…
One usually thinks of a radial density profile as having a monotonically changing logarithmic slope, such as in NFW or Einasto profiles. However, in two different classes of commonly used systems, this is often not the case. These classes…
The high stellar densities in young compact star clusters, such as the star cluster R 136 in the 30 Doradus region, may lead to a large number of stellar collisions. Such collisions were recently found to be much more frequent than previous…
I report outcomes of the analysis of the $A^+$ parameter, which measures the level of radial segregation of blue straggler stars in old star clusters, commonly known as the dynamical clock for the long-term internal dynamical evolution. I…
In this paper we analyze data of 8 elliptical galaxies in order to study the difference between their globular cluster systems (GCSs) radial distributions and those of the galactic stellar component. In all the galaxies studied here the…
We discuss the observations and theory of star cluster formation to argue that clusters form dynamically cool (subvirial) and with substructure. We then perform an ensemble of simulations of cool, clumpy (fractal) clusters and show that…
It is widely believed that globular clusters evolve over many two-body relaxation times toward a state of energy equipartition, so that velocity dispersion scales with stellar mass as \sigma ~ m^{-\eta} with \eta = 0.5. We show that this is…
Since recent years, mass segregation driven by two-body relaxation in star clusters has been proposed to be measured by the so-called dynamical clock, $A^+$, a measure of the area enclosed between the cumulative radial distribution of blue…