scholarly journals Simulations of Fractal Star Cluster Formation. I. New Insights for Measuring Mass Segregation of Star Clusters with Substructure

2017 ◽  
Vol 840 (2) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jincheng Yu ◽  
Thomas H. Puzia ◽  
Congping Lin ◽  
Yiwei Zhang
2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S270) ◽  
pp. 483-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayuki R. Saitoh ◽  
Hiroshi Daisaka ◽  
Eiichiro Kokubo ◽  
Junichiro Makino ◽  
Takashi Okamoto ◽  
...  

AbstractWe studied the formation process of star clusters using high-resolutionN-body/smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of colliding galaxies. The total number of particles is 1.2×108for our high resolution run. The gravitational softening is 5 pc and we allow gas to cool down to ~10 K. During the first encounter of the collision, a giant filament consists of cold and dense gas found between the progenitors by shock compression. A vigorous starburst took place in the filament, resulting in the formation of star clusters. The mass of these star clusters ranges from 105−8M⊙. These star clusters formed hierarchically: at first small star clusters formed, and then they merged via gravity, resulting in larger star clusters.


2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (2) ◽  
pp. 278
Author(s):  
S. T. Linden ◽  
A. S. Evans ◽  
K. Larson ◽  
G. C. Privon ◽  
L. Armus ◽  
...  

Abstract We present the results of a Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 near-UV and Advanced Camera for Surveys Wide Field Channel optical study into the star cluster populations of a sample of 10 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) in the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey. Through integrated broadband photometry we have derived ages, masses, and extinctions for a total of 1027 star clusters in galaxies with d L < 110 Mpc in order to avoid issues related to cluster bending. The measured cluster age distribution slope of dN / d τ ∝ τ − 0.5 + / − 0.12 is steeper than what has been observed in lower-luminosity star-forming galaxies. Further, differences in the slope of the observed cluster age distribution between inner- ( dN / d τ ∝ τ − 1.07 + / − 0.12 ) and outer-disk ( dN / d τ ∝ τ − 0.37 + / − 0.09 ) star clusters provide evidence of mass-dependent cluster destruction in the central regions of LIRGs driven primarily by the combined effect of strong tidal shocks and encounters with massive giant molecular clouds. Excluding the nuclear ring surrounding the Seyfert 1 nucleus in NGC 7469, the derived cluster mass function (CMF; dN / dM ∝ M α ) offers marginal evidence for a truncation in the power law at M t ∼ 2×106 M ⊙ for our three most cluster-rich sources, which are all classified as early stage mergers. Finally, we find evidence of a flattening of the CMF slope of dN / dM ∝ M − 1.42 ± 0.1 for clusters in late-stage mergers relative to early stage (α = −1.65 ± 0.02), which we attribute to an increase in the formation of massive clusters over the course of the interaction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (3) ◽  
pp. 3830-3845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajime Fukushima ◽  
Hidenobu Yajima ◽  
Kazuyuki Sugimura ◽  
Takashi Hosokawa ◽  
Kazuyuki Omukai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We study star cluster formation in various environments with different metallicities and column densities by performing a suite of 3D radiation hydrodynamics simulations. We find that the photoionization feedback from massive stars controls the star formation efficiency (SFE) in a star-forming cloud, and its impact sensitively depends on the gas metallicity Z and initial cloud surface density Σ. At Z = 1 Z⊙, SFE increases as a power law from 0.03 at Σ = 10 M⊙ pc−2 to 0.3 at $\Sigma = 300\,\mathrm{M}_{\odot }\, {\rm pc^{-2}}$. In low-metallicity cases $10^{-2}\!-\!10^{-1}\, \mathrm{Z}_{\odot }$, star clusters form from atomic warm gases because the molecule formation time is not short enough with respect to the cooling or dynamical time. In addition, the whole cloud is disrupted more easily by expanding H ii bubbles that have higher temperature owing to less efficient cooling. With smaller dust attenuation, the ionizing radiation feedback from nearby massive stars is stronger and terminate star formation in dense clumps. These effects result in inefficient star formation in low-metallicity environments: the SFE drops by a factor of ∼3 at Z = 10−2 Z⊙ compared to the results for Z = 1 Z⊙, regardless of Σ. Newborn star clusters are also gravitationally less bound. We further develop a new semi-analytical model that can reproduce the simulation results well, particularly the observed dependencies of the SFEs on the cloud surface densities and metallicities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (4) ◽  
pp. 5400-5408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A Norris ◽  
Glenn van de Ven ◽  
Sheila J Kannappan ◽  
Eva Schinnerer ◽  
Ryan Leaman

Abstract The discovery around the turn of the millennium of a population of very massive (M⋆ > 2 × 106 M⊙) compact stellar systems (CSS) with physical properties (radius, velocity dispersion, stellar mass etc.) that are intermediate between those of the classical globular cluster (GC) population and galaxies led to questions about their exact nature. Recently a consensus has emerged that these objects, usually called ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs), are a mass-dependent mixture of high-mass star clusters and remnant nuclei of tidally disrupted galaxies. The existence of genuine star clusters with stellar masses >107 M⊙ naturally leads to questions about the upper mass limit of the star cluster formation process. In this work we compile a comprehensive catalogue of CSS, and reinforce the evidence that the true ancient star cluster population has a maximum mass of M⋆ ∼ 5 × 107 M⊙, corresponding to a stellar mass at birth of close to 108 M⊙. We then discuss several physical and statistical mechanisms potentially responsible for creating this limiting mass.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (S351) ◽  
pp. 40-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florent Renaud

AbstractDense stellar systems in general and star clusters in particular have recently regained the interest of the extragalactic and even cosmology communities, due to the role they could play as actors and probes of re-ionization, galactic archeology and the dark matter content of galaxies, among many others. In the era of the exploitation and the preparation of large stellar surveys (Gaia, APOGEE, 4MOST, WEAVE), of the detection of gravitational waves mostly originating from dense regions like the cores of clusters (Ligo, LISA), and in an always more holistic view of galaxy formation (HARMONI, Euclid, LSST†), a complete theory on the formation and evolution of clusters is needed to interpret the on-going and forthcoming data avalanche. In this context, the community carries an effort to model the aspects of star cluster formation and evolution in galactic and even cosmological context. However, it is not always easy to understand the caveats and the shortcuts taken in theories and simulations, and their implications on the conclusions drawn. I take the opportunity of this document to highlight three of these topics and discuss why some shortcuts taken by the community are or could be misleading.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (S316) ◽  
pp. 70-76
Author(s):  
Zara Randriamanakoto ◽  
Petri Väisänen

AbstractSuper star clusters (SSCs) represent the youngest and most massive form of known gravitationally bound star clusters in the Universe. They are born abundantly in environments that trigger strong and violent star formation. We investigate the properties of these massive SSCs in a sample of 42 nearby starbursts and luminous infrared galaxies. The targets form the sample of the SUperNovae and starBursts in the InfraReD (SUNBIRD) survey that were imaged using near-infrared (NIR) K-band adaptive optics mounted on the Gemini/NIRI and the VLT/NaCo instruments. Results from i) the fitted power-laws to the SSC K-band luminosity functions, ii) the NIR brightest star cluster magnitude − star formation rate (SFR) relation and iii) the star cluster age and mass distributions have shown the importance of studying SSC host galaxies with high SFR levels to determine the role of the galactic environments in the star cluster formation, evolution and disruption mechanisms.


2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S246) ◽  
pp. 41-45
Author(s):  
Steve McMillan ◽  
Enrico Vesperini ◽  
Simon Portegies Zwart

AbstractSome young star clusters show a degree of mass segregation that is inconsistent with the effects of standard two-body relaxation from an initially unsegregated system without substructure, in virial equilibrium, and it is unclear whether current cluster formation models can account for this degree of initial segregation in clusters of significant mass. We show that mergers of small clumps that are either initially mass segregated, or in which mass segregation can be produced by two-body relaxation before they merge, generically lead to larger systems which inherit the progenitor clumps' segregation. We conclude that clusters formed in this way are naturally mass segregated, accounting for the anomalous observations and suggesting that this process of prompt mass segregation due to initial clumping should be taken into account in models of cluster formation and dynamics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. A60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémy Fensch ◽  
Pierre-Alain Duc ◽  
Médéric Boquien ◽  
Debra M. Elmegreen ◽  
Bruce G. Elmegreen ◽  
...  

Context. The formation of globular clusters remains an open debate. Dwarf starburst galaxies are efficient at forming young massive clusters with similar masses as globular clusters and may hold the key to understanding their formation. Aims. We study star cluster formation in a tidal debris, including the vicinity of three tidal dwarf galaxies, in a massive gas-dominated collisional ring around NGC 5291. These dwarfs have physical parameters that differ significantly from local starbursting dwarfs. They are gas rich, highly turbulent, their gas metallicity is already enriched up to half solar values, and they are expected to be free of dark matter. The aim is to study massive star cluster formation in this as yet unexplored type of environment. Methods. We used imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope using broadband filters that cover the wavelength range from the near-ultraviolet to the near-infrared. We determined the masses and ages of the cluster candidates by using the spectral energy distribution-fitting code CIGALE. We considered age-extinction degeneracy effects on the estimation of the physical parameters. Results. We find that the tidal dwarf galaxies in the ring of NGC 5291 are forming star clusters with an average efficiency of ∼40%, which is similar to blue compact dwarf galaxies. We also find massive star clusters for which the photometry suggests that they were formed at the very birth of the tidal dwarf galaxies. These clusters have survived for several hundred million years. Therefore our study shows that extended tidal dwarf galaxies and compact clusters may be formed simultaneously. In the specific case observed here, the young star clusters are not massive enough to survive for a Hubble time. However, it may be speculated that similar objects at higher redshift, with a higher star formation rate, might form some of the long-lived globular clusters.


Author(s):  
Sho Kuwahara ◽  
Kazufumi Torii ◽  
Norikazu Mizuno ◽  
Shinji Fujita ◽  
Mikito Kohno ◽  
...  

Abstract [DBS2003]179 is a super star cluster in the Galaxy discovered in deep near-infrared observations. We carried out CO $J$ = 1–0 and $J$ = 3–2 observations of the region of [DBS2003]179 with NANTEN2, ASTE, and the Mopra 22 m telescope. We identified and mapped two molecular clouds that are likely to be associated with the cluster. This association is supported by the spatial correlation with the corresponding 8$\, \mu$m Spitzer image and by a high ratio of the two transitions of $^{12}$CO($J$ = 3–2 and $J$ = 1–0). The two clouds show complementary distributions in space, and bridging features connect them in velocity. We hypothesize that the two clouds collided with each other 1–2 Myr ago and that the collision compressed the interfacial layer, triggering the formation of the cluster. This offers an additional piece of evidence for a super star cluster formed by a cloud–cloud collision, alongside the four super star clusters Westerlund$\:2$, NGC 3603, RCW 38, and R 136. These findings indicate that the known super star clusters with closely associated dust emission were formed by cloud–cloud collisions, lending support to the important role of cloud–cloud collisions in high-mass star formation.


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