Gravity and thermodynamics in globular clusters: new results by numerical simulations

by Prof. Marco Merafina (University of Rome La Sapienza)

Monday 15 Dec 2014, 10:00 → 11:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati)

ABSTRACT: New developments on N-body simulations for glubular clusters (GCs) are presented. These results suggest a unique curve of the GC evolution in which the thermodynamics play an important role. The critical value of central gravitational potential (w0) after that the systems cannot be described by a King distribution function seems to be the same for every cluster and in accordance with the phenomenon of gravothermal catastrophe. The results obtained are coherent with the theory of the effective potential arising from the presence of tidal interactions between the cluster and the hosting galaxy.