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Title:
Gas expulsion and the destruction of massive young clusters
Authors:
Goodwin, Simon P.; Bastian, Nate
Affiliation:
AA(Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH), AB(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT)
Publication:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 373, Issue 2, pp. 752-758. (MNRAS Homepage)
Publication Date:
12/2006
Origin:
MNRAS
Astronomy Keywords:
stellar dynamics, methods: N-body simulations, galaxies: star clusters
DOI:
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11078.x
Bibliographic Code:
2006MNRAS.373..752G

Abstract

We examine the luminosity and dynamical mass estimates for young massive stellar clusters. For many young (<50 Myr) clusters, the luminosity and dynamical mass estimates differ by a significant amount. We explain this as being due to many young clusters being out of virial equilibrium (which is assumed in dynamical mass estimates) because the clusters are undergoing violent relaxation after expelling gas not used in star formation. We show that, if we assume that luminous mass estimates are correct (for a standard initial mass function), at least 50 per cent of young clusters for which dynamical masses are known are likely to be destroyed within a few tens of Myr of their formation. Even clusters which will retain a bound core may lose a large fraction of their stellar mass. We also show that the core radius and other structural parameters change significantly during the violent relaxation that follows gas expulsion and that they should be considered instantaneous values only, not necessarily reflecting the final state of the cluster. In particular we note that the increasing core radii observed in young LMC/SMC clusters can be well explained as an effect of rapid gas loss.

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