Evolution of star cluster systems in isolated galaxies: first results from direct N-body simulations

The evolution of star clusters is largely affected by the tidal field generated by the host galaxy. It is thus in principle expected that under the assumption of a `universal' initial cluster mass function the properties of the evolved present-day mass function of star cluster systems should show a dependence on the properties of the galactic environment in which they evolve. To explore this expectation, a sophisticated model of the tidal field is required in order to study the evolution of star cluster systems in realistic galaxies. Along these lines, in this work we first describe a method developed for coupling N-body simulations of galaxies and star clusters. We then generate a data base of galaxy models along the Hubble sequence and calibrate evolutionary equations to the results of direct N-body simulations of star clusters in order to predict the clusters' mass evolution as function of the galactic environment. We finally apply our methods to explore the properties of evolved `universal' initial cluster mass functions and any dependence on the host galaxy morphology and mass distribution. The preliminary results show that an initial power-law distribution of the masses `universally' evolves into a lognormal distribution, with the properties correlated with the stellar mass and stellar mass density of the host galaxy.