GRAPE-6 Simulations of Dense Star Clusters
Abstract
We report on recent results from a long-term program of N-body simulations of dense star cluster evolution which is being done with GRAPE-6 systems at Indiana University and Purdue University Calumet. We have been simulating cases of star cluster evolution with a particular focus on the dynamical evolution of hard binary populations of varying size. Initial models with a range of mass spectra, both with and without primordial binary populations, are being investigated to points well beyond core collapse. Our goal is to better understand the evoultion of compact binary populations in collapsed-core globular clusters. Observations of collapsed-core clusters with HST and Chandra have revealed populations of hard, X-ray binaries well outside the cluster core. Our work is focused on understanding the diffusion of these dynamically hardened binaries to regions in the cluster halo and the robustness of this process in models with mass spectra versus single-mass models.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007AAS...211.5802S