Star Cluster Simulations Including Stellar Evolution.pdf

a r X i v : a s t r o - p h / 0 2 0 3 0 4 5 v 1 4 M a r 2 0 0 2 Dynamics of Star Clusters and the Milky Way ASP Conference Series, Vol. 000, 2000 S. Deiters, B. Fuchs, A. Just, R. Spurzem, and R. Wielen, eds. Star Cluster Simulations Including Stellar Evolution Stephen L. W. McMillan Department of Physics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Abstract. The past few years have seen dramatic improvements in the scope and realism of star cluster simulations. Accurate treatments of stellar evolution, coupled with robust descriptions of all phases of binary evolution, have been incorporated self-consistently into several dynamical codes, allowing for the first time detailed study of the interplay between stellar dynamics and stellar physics. The coupling between evolution, dynamics, and the observational appearance of the cluster is particularly strong in young systems and those containing large numbers of primordial binary systems, and important inroads have been made in these areas, particularly in N -body simulations. I discuss some technical aspects of the current generation of N -body integrators, and describe some recent results obtained using these codes. 1. Introduction: A Revolution in Cluster Modeling Star clusters are remarkably clean realizations of the classical N -body problem. They are relatively isolated in space, consist of more or less coeval stars, and contain relatively little gas or dust. As such, they provide unique laboratories for the study of fundamental stellar dynamical processes—relaxation, mass segrega- tion, core collapse, binary interactions, post-collapse evolution, and evaporation with and without the effects of external tidal fields. Globular clusters are per- haps the best examples of “clean” systems. They are indeed isolated, gas free, and largely separate from the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy (except for tidal effects), and stellar evolution is relatively unimportant in governing their present large-scale dynamics, although