Related papers: On the dissolution of evolving star clusters
We have developed a new parallel supercomputer code based on Henon's Monte Carlo method for simulating the dynamical evolution of globular clusters. This new code allows us to calculate the evolution of a cluster containing a realistic…
The evolution of star clusters is determined by several internal and external processes. Here we focus on two dominant internal effects, namely energy exchange between stars through close encounters (two-body relaxation) and mass-loss of…
Both simulations and observations indicate that stars form in filamentary, hierarchically clustered associations, most of which disperse into their galactic field once feedback destroys their parent clouds. However, during their early…
The majority of observed mass-to-light ratios of globular clusters are too low to be explained by `canonical' cluster models, in which dynamical effects are not accounted for. Moreover, these models do not reproduce a recently reported…
We investigate the properties and evolution of star particles in two simulations of isolated spiral galaxies, and two galaxies from cosmological simulations. Unlike previous numerical work, where typically each star particle represents one…
We study the first 100Myr of the evolution of isolated star clusters initially containing 144179 stars, including 13107 (10%) primordial hard binaries. Our calculations include the effects of both stellar and binary evolution. Gravitational…
Galactic globular clusters are ancient building blocks of our Galaxy. They represent a very interesting family of stellar systems in which some fundamental dynamical processes have been taking place for more than 10 Gyr, but on time scales…
We simulate the dynamics of fractal star clusters, in order to investigate the evolution of substructure in recently formed clusters. The velocity dispersion is found to be the key parameter determining the survival of substructure. In…
Most recent progress in understanding the dynamical evolution of star clusters relies on direct N-body simulations. Owing to the computational demands, and the desire to model more complex and more massive star clusters, hardware…
As ancient, gravitationally bound stellar populations, globular clusters are abundant, vibrant laboratories characterized by high frequencies of dynamical interactions coupled to complex stellar evolution. Using surface brightness and…
Star formation plays a central role in the evolution of galaxies and of the Universe as a whole. Studies of star-forming regions in the local universe have shown that star formation typically occurs in a clustered fashion. Building a…
Open and globular star clusters have served as benchmarks for the study of stellar evolution due to their supposed nature as simple stellar populations of the same age and metallicity. After a brief review of some of the pioneering work…
This paper describes an N-body model for the dynamical evolution of the nearby globular cluster M4. The initial conditions, with N = 484710 particles, were generated from a published study of this cluster with a Monte Carlo code. With the…
Size differences of approx. 20% between red (metal-rich) and blue (metal-poor) sub-populations of globular clusters have been observed, generating an ongoing debate as to weather these originate from projection effects or the difference in…
The influence of rotation on the dynamical evolution of collisional stellar systems is investigated by solving the orbit-averaged Fokker-Planck equation in (E,J_z)-space. We find that large amounts of initial rotation drive the system into…
The collapse time for a cluster of equal-mass stars is usually stated to be either 330 central relaxation times ($\trc$) or 12--19 half-mass relaxation times ($\trh$). But the first of these times applies only to the late stages of core…
A star cluster in a galactic nucleus sinks toward the galactic center due to dynamical friction. As it spirals inward, the cluster loses mass due to stellar evolution, relaxation driven evaporation, and tidal stripping, eventually…
We use the results of realistic N-body simulations to investigate the appearance of the white dwarf population in dense star clusters. We show that the presence of a substantial binary population in a star cluster, and the interaction of…
We describe Monte Carlo models for the dynamical evolution of the massive globular cluster 47 Tuc (NGC 104). The code includes treatments of two-body relaxation, most kinds of three- and four-body interactions involving primordial binaries…
Star formation in molecular clouds is clumpy, hierarchically subclustered. Fractal structure also emerges in hydro-dynamical simulations of star-forming clouds. Simulating the formation of realistic star clusters with hydro-dynamical…