Star Clusters in the Galactic tidal field, from birth to dissolution

2019

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DOI 10.1017/s1743921319006781
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Abstract We study the evolution of star clusters in the Galactic tidal field starting from their birth in molecular clumps. Our model clusters form according to the local-density-driven cluster formation model in which the stellar density profile is steeper than that of gas. As a result, clusters resist the gas expulsion better than predicted by earlier models. We vary the impact of the Galactic tidal field λ, considering different Galactocentric distances (3-18 kpc), as well as different cluster sizes. Our model clusters survive the gas expulsion independent of λ. We investigated the relation between the cluster mass at the onset of secular evolution and their dissolution time. The model clusters formed with a high star-formation efficiency (SFE) follow a tight mass-dependent dissolution relation, in agreement with previous theoretical studies. However, the low-SFE models present a shallower mass-dependent relation than high-SFE clusters, and most dissolve before reaching 1 Gyr (cluster teenage mortality).