Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jul 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006apj...646..464s&link_type=abstract
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 646, Issue 1, pp. 464-473.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
17
Galaxy: Globular Clusters: General, Methods: N-Body Simulations, Stars: Novae, Cataclysmic Variables, Galaxy: Open Clusters And Associations: General, Stellar Dynamics
Scientific paper
Strong interactions between the single and binary stars in the cores of dense clusters often cause the binaries' semimajor axes to contract. These ``hardened'' binaries are potent dynamical energy sources. Once significant physical interaction between a binary's components begins (e.g., mass transfer), the stellar evolution of that binary is intimately linked to the dynamical evolution of all the stars in the cluster. We self-consistently simulate the stellar dynamics, and binary and single-star evolution of a 100,000 star cluster with 5000 primordial binaries. The production of very close binaries containing a white dwarf is enhanced over that in the field; we focus on their formation, evolution, and fate. We report on a class of utterly novel CVs that never undergo a common envelope phase but are instead formed in exchange reactions. Exchange interactions are more likely to make CVs in which the main-sequence star mass is greater than 0.7 Msolar, as opposed to CVs with low-mass donors. These dynamically produced CVs are more likely to be short-lived than their field counterparts. We find that the shorter lives of CVs in the harsh cluster environment decrease the expected number of CVs, at any given time, by a factor of 3. Finally, we provide the first self-consistent simulation of the period distribution of dynamics-dominated cataclysmic variables. We predict that there will be no 2-3 hour period gap for cluster CVs; the gap is smeared out by dynamical interactions of CVs with cluster stars.
Hurley Jarrod R.
Shara Michael M.
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