A numerical method for the study of the gravothermal instability in star clusters

Mathematics – Logic

Scientific paper

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Gravitational Collapse, Star Clusters, Stellar Evolution, Stellar Models, Thermal Instability, Boltzmann Transport Equation, Celestial Mechanics, Conductive Heat Transfer, Digital Simulation, Fokker-Planck Equation, Homology, Many Body Problem, Radial Velocity, Relaxation (Mechanics), Stellar Gravitation, Stellar Motions

Scientific paper

The evolution of spherical one-component star clusters is described by means of a method which employs the numerical integration of the moment equations derived from the Boltzman equation. Detailed numerical results are given from a study of the evolution of Plummer's (1915) model. Only in the late stages of evolution is the core collapse rate a fixed fraction of the relaxation rate. The velocity distribution presently represented by six moments seems to approach a self-similar form, which the comparison of different outer boundary conditions shows to be independent of the outer halo. These results offer new evidence that core collapse, and the onset of the homological phase in its late stages, is due to the gravothermal catastrophe scenario of Lynden-Bell and Wood (1978).

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