Integrated properties of mass segregated star clusters

TL;DR

This paper investigates how mass segregation affects the observed properties of star clusters, revealing that core radii appear smaller and color-dependent effects are subtle, complicating observational detection.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of how mass segregation influences integrated properties of star clusters, highlighting observational challenges in detecting such segregation.

Findings

Core radii of segregated clusters can appear 50% smaller

Red filter measurements are slightly smaller than blue filter measurements

Differences in observed properties are small, less than 10%

Abstract

In this contribution we study integrated properties of dynamically segregated star clusters. The observed core radii of segregated clusters can be 50% smaller than the ``true'' core radius. In addition, the measured radius in the red filters is smaller than those measured in blue filters. However, these difference are small ($\lesssim10%$), making it observationally challenging to detect mass segregation in extra-galactic clusters based on such a comparison. Our results follow naturally from the fact that in nearly all filters most of the light comes from the most massive stars. Therefore, the observed surface brightness profile is dominated by stars of similar mass, which are centrally concentrated and have a similar spatial distribution.