Research Division Seminar
New Indicators of star cluster dynamical evolution

Abstract

Globular clusters (GCs) are one of the oldest stellar systems where individual stars could be resolved and are essentially the fossils of galaxy formation. Understanding their internal evolution is crucial for formation and evolution of the host galaxies as well as, to interpret their present-day structural and kinematical properties. The dynamical evolution of these collisional systems is significantly affected by properties such as binary fraction, concentration, tidal field of the galaxies and so forth. As a result, GCs with the same chronological age can be in very different dynamical evolutionary stages, making the determination of their "dynamical age" observationally challenging. 

In this talk, I will be presenting new empirical parameters measurable from observations which are able to trace the different phases of dynamical evolution of star clusters. I will also discuss the impact of heating sources such as, primordial binaries and stellar mass blackholes on the dynamical evolution and in-turn on the new empirical parameters.