Kinematical fingerprints of star cluster early dynamical evolution

We study the effects of the external tidal field on the violent relaxation phase of star clusters dynamical evolution, with particular attention to the kinematical properties of the equilibrium configurations emerging at the end of this phase.We show that star clusters undergoing the process of violent relaxation in the tidal field of their host galaxy can acquire significant internal differential rotation and are characterized by a distinctive radial variation of the velocity anisotropy. These kinematical properties are the result of the symmetry breaking introduced by the external tidal field in the collapse phase and of the action of the Coriolis force on the orbit of the stars. The resulting equilibrium configurations are characterized by differential rotation, with a peak located between one and two half-mass radii. As for the anisotropy, similar to clusters evolving in isolation, the systems explored in this Letter are characterized by an inner isotropic core, followed by a region of increasing radial anisotropy. However for systems evolving in an external tidal field the degree of radial anisotropy reaches a maximum in the cluster intermediate regions and then progressively decreases, with the cluster outermost regions being characterized by isotropy or a mild tangential anisotropy. Young or old but less-relaxed dynamically young star clusters may keep memory of these kinematical fingerprints of their early dynamical evolution.Comment: 5 pages 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Star cluster ecology IVa: Dissection of an open star cluster---photometry

The evolution of star clusters is studied using N-body simulations in which the evolution of single stars and binaries are taken self-consistently into account. Initial conditions are chosen to represent relatively young Galactic open clusters, such as the Pleiades, Praesepe and the Hyades. The calculations include a realistic mass function, primordial binaries and the external potential of the parent Galaxy. Our model clusters are generally significantly flattened in the Galactic tidal field, and dissolve before deep core collapse occurs. The binary fraction decreases initially due to the destruction of soft binaries, but increases later because lower mass single stars escape more easily than the more massive binaries. At late times, the cluster core is quite rich in giants and white dwarfs. There is no evidence for preferential evaporation of old white dwarfs, on the contrary the formed white dwarfs are likely to remain in the cluster. Stars tend to escape from the cluster through the first and second Lagrange points, in the direction of and away from the Galactic center. Mass segregation manifests itself in our models well within an initial relaxation time. As expected, giants and white dwarfs are much more strongly affected by mass segregation than main-sequence stars. Open clusters are dynamically rather inactive. However, the combined effect of stellar mass loss and evaporation of stars from the cluster potential drives its dissolution on a much shorter timescale than if these effects are neglected. The often-used argument that a star cluster is barely older than its relaxation time and therefore cannot be dynamically evolved is clearly in error for the majority of star clusters.Comment: reduced abstract, 33 pages (three separate color .jpg figures), submitted to MNRA

Evolution of star clusters in a cosmological tidal field

We present a method to couple N-body star cluster simulations to a cosmological tidal field, using the Astrophysical Multipurpose Software Environment. We apply this method to star clusters embedded in the CosmoGrid dark matter-only LambdaCDM simulation. Our star clusters are born at z = 10 (corresponding to an age of the Universe of about 500 Myr) by selecting a dark matter particle and initializing a star cluster with 32,000 stars on its location. We then follow the dynamical evolution of the star cluster within the cosmological environment. We compare the evolution of star clusters in two Milky-Way size haloes with a different accretion history. The mass loss of the star clusters is continuous irrespective of the tidal history of the host halo, but major merger events tend to increase the rate of mass loss. From the selected two dark matter haloes, the halo that experienced the larger number of mergers tends to drive a smaller mass loss rate from the embedded star clusters, even though the final masses of both haloes are similar. We identify two families of star clusters: native clusters, which become part of the main halo before its final major merger event, and the immigrant clusters, which are accreted upon or after this event; native clusters tend to evaporate more quickly than immigrant clusters. Accounting for the evolution of the dark matter halo causes immigrant star clusters to retain more mass than when the z=0 tidal field is taken as a static potential. The reason for this is the weaker tidal field experienced by immigrant star clusters before merging with the larger dark matter halo.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Evolution of Binary Stars in Multiple-Population Globular Clusters - II. Compact Binaries

We present the results of a survey of N-body simulations aimed at exploring the evolution of compact binaries in multiple-population globular clusters.We show that as a consequence of the initial differences in the structural properties of the first-generation (FG) and the second-generation (SG) populations and the effects of dynamical processes on binary stars, the SG binary fraction decreases more rapidly than that of the FG population. The difference between the FG and SG binary fraction is qualitatively similar to but quantitatively smaller than that found for wider binaries in our previous investigations.The evolution of the radial variation of the binary fraction is driven by the interplay between binary segregation, ionization and ejection. Ionization and ejection counteract in part the effects of mass segregation but for compact binaries the effects of segregation dominate and the inner binary fraction increases during the cluster evolution. We explore the variation of the difference between the FG and the SG binary fraction with the distance from the cluster centre and its dependence on the binary binding energy and cluster structural parameters. The difference between the binary fraction in the FG and the SG populations found in our simulations is consistent with the results of observational studies finding a smaller binary fraction in the SG population.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Planets in triple star systems--the case of HD188753

We consider the formation of the recently discovered ``hot Jupiter'' planet orbiting the primary component of the triple star system HD188753. Although the current outer orbit of the triple is too tight for a Jupiter-like planet to have formed and migrated to its current location, the binary may have been much wider in the past. We assume here that the planetary system formed in an open star cluster, the dynamical evolution of which subsequently led to changes in the system's orbital parameters and binary configuration. We calculate cross sections for various scenarios that could have led to the multiple system currently observed, and conclude that component A of HD188753 with its planet were most likely formed in isolation to be swapped in a triple star system by a dynamical encounter in an open star cluster. We estimate that within 500pc of the Sun there are about 1200 planetary systems which, like Hd188753, have orbital parameters unfavorable for forming planets but still having a planet, making it quite possible that the HD188753 system was indeed formed by a dynamical encounter in an open star cluster.Comment: ApJ Letters in pres

Evolution of Binary Stars in Multiple-Population Globular Clusters

The discovery of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters has implications for all the aspects of the study of these stellar systems. In this paper, by means of N-body simulations, we study the evolution of binary stars in multiple-population clusters and explore the implications of the initial differences in the spatial distribution of different stellar populations for the evolution and survival of their binary stars. Our simulations show that initial differences between the spatial distribution of first-generation (FG) and second-generation (SG) stars can leave a fingerprint in the current properties of the binary population. SG binaries are disrupted more efficiently than those of the FG population resulting in a global SG binary fraction smaller than that of the FG. As for surviving binaries, dynamical evolution produces a difference between the SG and the FG binary binding energy distribution with the SG population characterized by a larger fraction of high binding energy (more bound) binaries. We have also studied the dependence of the binary properties on the distance from the cluster centre. Although the global binary fraction decreases more rapidly for the SG population, the local binary fraction measured in the cluster inner regions may still be dominated by SG binaries. The extent of the differences between the surviving FG and SG binary binding energy distribution also varies radially within the cluster and is larger in the cluster inner regions.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

The ecology of star clusters and intermediate-mass black holes in the galactic bulge

We simulate the inner 100 pc of the Milky Way to study the formation and evolution of the population of star clusters and intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). For this study we perform extensive direct N-body simulations of the star clusters that reside in the bulge, and of the inner few tenth of parsecs of the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center. In our N-body simulations the dynamical friction of the star cluster in the tidal field of the bulge are taken into account via semianalytic solutions. The N-body calculations are used to calibrate a semianalytic model of the formation and evolution of the bulge. We find that similar to 10% of the clusters born within similar to 100 pc of the Galactic center undergo core collapse during their inward migration and form IMBHs via runaway stellar merging. After the clusters dissolve, these IMBHs continue their inward drift, carrying a few of the most massive stars with them. We predict that a region within similar to 10 pc of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) is populated by similar to 50 IMBHs of similar to 1000 M-circle dot. Several of these are still expected to be accompanied by some of the most massive stars from the star cluster. We also find that within a few milliparsecs of the SMBH there is a steady population of several IMBHs. This population drives the merger rate between IMBHs and the SMBH at a rate of about one per 10 Myr, sufficient to build the accumulated majority of mass of the SMBH. Mergers of IMBHs with SMBHs throughout the universe are detectable by LISA at a rate of about two per week