Star Cluster Formation and Disruption Time-Scales -- I. An empirical determination of the disruption time of star clusters in four galaxies

Simple item page
dc.creatorBoutloukos, S. G.
dc.creatorLamers, H. J. G. L. M.
dc.date2002-10-28
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T11:08:08Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T11:08:08Z
dc.descriptionWe present a new method to derive the cluster disruption time in selected regions of galaxies from the mass or age distribution of magnitude-limited cluster samples. If the disruption time of clusters in a region of a galaxy depends on their initial mass as t_4 x (M_cluster/10^4 M_sun)^gamma and if the cluster formation rate is constant, then the mass and age distributions of the observed clusters will each show two powerlaw relations. The values of t_4 and gamma can be derived from these relations. We used this method to derive the cluster disruption time in specific regions in four galaxies: the inner region of M51, a region of M33, the SMC and the solar neighbourhood. The values of gamma are the same in the four galaxies within the uncertainty and the mean value is gamma= 0.62 +- 0.06. However the disruption time t_4 of a cluster of 10^4 M_sun is very different in the different galaxies. The clusters in the SMC have the longest disruption time, t_4 = 8 Gyr, and the clusters at 1 to 3 kpc from the nucleus of M51 have the shortest disruption time of t_4 = 0.04 Gyr. The disruption time of clusters 1 to 5 kpc from the nucleus of M33 is t_4 = 0.13 Gyr and for clusters within 1 kpc from the Sun we find t_4 = 1.0 Gyr.
dc.description18 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication by Monthly Notices
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0210595
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0210595
dc.identifierMon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.338:717,2003
dc.identifierdoi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06083.x
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/190036
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleStar Cluster Formation and Disruption Time-Scales -- I. An empirical determination of the disruption time of star clusters in four galaxies
dc.typetext

Files

Collections

arXiv