Dynamical Evolution of Globular Cluster Systems
Evolution of the mass function (MF) and radial distribution (RD) of globular cluster (GC) systems has been studied using an advanced and a realistic Fokker-Planck (FP) model that considers dynamical friction, disc/bulge shocks and eccentric cluster orbits. We performed hundreds of FP calculations with different initial cluster conditions, and then search a wide-parameter space for the best-fitting initial GC MF and RD that evolves into the observed present-day GC MFs and RDs of the Milky Way and M87. We compare the evolution of the GC systems in these two, very different galaxies.
We also study the dynamical evolution of two individual GCs, Omega Centausi and NGC 6397. The former is believed to be a remnant of a dwarf sattelite galaxy while the latter is a classical GC of the Milky Way. If Omega Cen is indeed a remnant of a dwarf galaxy, it is natural to expect it to have a significant amount of dark matter in the beginning. We calculated the dynamical evolution of these two GCs with dark matter. We discuss possible origins of Omega Centaruri in terms of dynamics.
