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The Influence of Gas Expulsion on the Evolution of Star Clusters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2007

H. Baumgardt  and
P. Kroupa
H. Baumgardt
Affiliation:
Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany email: holger@astro.uni-bonn.de, pavel@astro.uni-bonn.de
P. Kroupa
Affiliation:
Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany email: holger@astro.uni-bonn.de, pavel@astro.uni-bonn.de
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Abstract

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We present new results on the dynamical evolution and dissolution of star clusters due to residual gas expulsion and the effect this has on the mass function and other properties of star cluster systems. To this end, we have carried out a large set of N-body simulations, varying the star formation efficiency, gas expulsion time scale and strength of the external tidal field, obtaining a three-dimensional grid of models which can be used to predict the evolution of individual star clusters or whole star cluster systems by interpolating between our runs. When applied to the Milky Way globular cluster system, we find that gas expulsion is the main dissolution mechanism for star clusters, destroying about 80% of all clusters within a few 10s of Myers. Together with later dynamical evolution, it seems possible to turn an initial power-law mass function into a log-normal one with properties similar to what has been observed for the Milky Way globular clusters.

Keywords

stellar dynamicsmethods: n-body simulationsgalaxies: star clusters
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 3 , Symposium S246: Dynamical Evolution of Dense Stellar Systems , September 2007 , pp. 36 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2008

References

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