1996/05/03 by Piet Hut, Hut, Piet
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9605019
10 pages, Latex + 3 ps-figures, to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 174: Dynamical Evolution of Star Clusters
openalex publication_date 1996/05/03 · arxiv created 1996/05/04 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2022/10/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The size of the core is one of the main diagnostics of the evolutionary state\nof a globular cluster. Much has been learned over the last few years about the\nbehavior of the core radius during and after core collapse, under a variety of\ndifferent conditions related to the presence or absence of large numbers of\nbinaries. An overview is presented of the basic physical principles that can be\nused to estimate the core radius. Four different situations are discussed, and\nexpressions are presented for the ratio rc/rh of core radius to half mass\nradius. The regimes are: deep collapse in the absence of primordial binaries;\nsteady post-collapse evolution after primordial binaries have been burned up;\nchaotic post-collapse evolution under the same conditions; and post-collapse\nevolution in the presence of primordial binaries. In addition, modifications to\nall of these cases are indicated for the more realistic situation where effects\nof the galactic tidal field are taken into account.\n