Orbital Decay and Tidal Disruption of a Star Cluster: Analytical Calculation

Abstract

The orbital decay and tidal disruption of a star cluster in a galaxy is studied in an analytical manner. Owing to dynamical friction, the star cluster spirals in toward the center of the galaxy. Simultaneously, the galactic tidal field strips stars from the outskirts of the star cluster. Under an assumption that the star cluster undergoes a self-similar evolution, we obtain the condition and timescale for the star cluster to reach the galaxy center before its disruption. The result is used to discuss the fate of so-called intermediate-mass black holes with >10^3 M(sun) found recently in young star clusters of starburst galaxies and also the mass function of globular clusters in galaxies.

arXiv comment12 pages, 1 PS file for 2 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journal

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• Dynamical friction for dark halo satellites: effects of tidal massloss and growing host potential
• Gas Accretion by Globular Clusters and Nucleated Dwarf Galaxies and the Formation of the Arches and Quintuplet Clusters
• Galaxy Interaction and Starburst-Seyfert Connection
• Two-component, ideal, self-gravitating fluids: the fractional virial potential energy