Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aas...21547803c&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #478.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.565
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We explore, through N-body simulations, the past and future evolution of the Pleiades. This study builds on the work of Converse & Stahler (2008) that established statistically the present-day structure of this system. Our simulations begin just after molecular cloud gas has been expelled by the embedded stars. We then follow the stellar dynamical evolution of the cluster to the present and beyond. For our initial state, we find the one which, over the 125 Myr age of the cluster, evolves to a configuration most closely matching the current one.
During its evolution, the cluster globally expanded and this expansion will continue into the far future. The central core of the cluster does not contract, as would be expected from classical dynamical relaxation. This qualitatively different evolution reflects heating by binary systems. Even when no primordial binaries are included in our simulations, we find that the few formed subsequently near the center overwhelm dynamical relaxation. The Pleiades is a textbook example of how three-body interactions involving binaries dominate the evolution of open clusters. This behavior contrasts with the dominance of two-body interactions in large-N systems.
Converse Joseph M.
Stahler Steven W.
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