Dynamical evolution of star clusters with top-heavy IMF
Abstract
Several observational and theoretical studies suggest that the initial mass function (IMF) slope for massive stars in globular clusters (GCs) depends on the initial cloud density and metallicity, such that the IMF becomes increasingly top-heavy with decreasing metallicity and increasing the gas density of the forming object. Using N-body simulations of GCs starting with a top-heavy IMF and undergo early gas expulsion within a Milky Way-like potential, we show how such a cluster would evolve. By varying the degree of top-heaviness, we calculate the dissolution time and the minimum cluster mass needed for the cluster to survive after 12 Gyr of evolution.
- Publication:
-
Star Clusters: From the Milky Way to the Early Universe
- Pub Date:
- 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S174392131900704X
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2012.09195
- Bibcode:
- 2020IAUS..351..447H
- Keywords:
-
- star clusters;
- N-body simulation;
- initial mass function;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies;
- Physics - Computational Physics
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union