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The dynamical fate of binary star clusters in the Galactic tidal field
Priyatikanto R.a,b, Kouwenhoven M.B.N.c, Arifyanto M.I.a, Wulandari H.R.T.a, Siregar S.a
a Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia
b Space Science Centre, National Institute of Aeronautics and Space, Bandung, 40173, Indonesia
c Kavli Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100871, China
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624529070653{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner layout=”boxed”][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1624695412187{border-right-width: 1px !important;border-right-color: #dddddd !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Abstract” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]© 2016 The Authors.Fragmentation and fission of giant molecular clouds occasionally results in a pair of gravitationally bound star clusters that orbit their mutual centre of mass for some time, under the influence of internal and external perturbations. We investigate the evolution of binary star clusters with different orbital configurations, with a particular focus on the Galactic tidal field. We carry out N-body simulations of evolving binary star clusters and compare our results with estimates from our semi-analytic model. The latter accounts for mass-loss due to stellar evolution and two-body relaxation, and for evolution due to external tides. Using the semianalytic model, we predict the long-term evolution for a wide range of initial conditions. It accurately describes the global evolution of such systems, until the moment when a cluster merger is imminent. N-body simulations are used to test our semi-analytic model and also to study additional features of evolving binary clusters, such as the kinematics of stars, global cluster rotation, evaporation rates, and the cluster merger process. We find that the initial orientation of a binary star cluster with respect to the Galactic field, and also the initial orbital phase, is crucial for its fate. Depending on these properties, the binariesmay experience orbital reversal, spiral-in, or vertical oscillation about the Galactic plane before they actually merge at t ≈ 100 Myr, and produce rotating star clusters with slightly higher evaporation rates. The merger process of a binary cluster induces an outburst that ejects ~10 per cent of the stellar members into the Galactic field.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Author keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Indexed keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]Galaxy: kinematics and dynamics,Methods: numerical,Open clusters and associations: general,Stars: kinematics and dynamics[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Funding details” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”DOI” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw060[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_column_text]Widget Plumx[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row]