paper

Environmental Effects on the Dynamical Evolution of Star Clusters in Turbulent Molecular Clouds

arXiv:2207.01634 · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243579

Abstract

Context: Star clusters form within giant molecular clouds that are strongly altered by the feedback action of the massive stars, but the cluster still remains embedded in a dense, highly turbulent medium and interactions with ambient structures may modify its dynamical evolution from that expected if it were isolated. Aims: We aim to study coupling mechanisms between the dynamical evolution of the cluster, accelerated by the mass segregation process, with harassment effects caused by the gaseous environment. Methods: We simulated the cluster dynamical evolution combining -body and hydrodynamic codes within the Astronomical Multipurpose Software Environment (AMUSE). Conclusions: Tidal harassment produces a sparser configuration more rapidly than the isolated reference simulations. The evolution of the asymptotic power-law density distribution exponent also shows substantially different behaviour in the two cases. The background is more effective on clusters in advanced stages of dynamical development.

arXiv comment9 pages, 2 appendices, 4 tables, 6 figures, accepted for publication to A&A

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