• DOI:10.1093/mnrasl/slx030
• Corpus ID: 119186190

The early evolution of star clusters in compressive and extensive tidal fields

@article{Webb2017TheEE,
  title={The early evolution of star clusters in compressive and extensive tidal fields},
  author={Jeremy J. Webb and Saahil Patel and Enrico Vesperini},
  journal={Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  year={2017},
  volume={468}
}

• J. Webb, S. Patel, E. Vesperini
• Published 10 February 2017
• Physics, Geology
• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We present N-body simulations of star clusters that initially evolve within a strong compressive tidal field and then transition into extensive tidal fields of varying strengths. While subject to compressive tides, clusters can undergo significant heating due to two-body interactions and mass loss due to stellar evolution. When the cluster transitions into an extensive tidal field it is super-virialized, which leads to a rapid expansion and significant mass loss before the cluster reaches virial equilibrium. After the transition, clusters are significantly less massive, more extended and therefore more tidally filling than clusters which have spent their entire lifetime in a similar extensive tidal field.