Survivability of a star cluster in a dispersing molecular cloud

TL;DR

This study uses N-body simulations to investigate how molecular cloud dispersal affects star cluster survivability, revealing that most embedded clusters endure beyond 30 million years despite various initial conditions.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed N-body simulation analysis of molecular cloud dispersal impact on star cluster longevity.

Findings

Most embedded clusters survive over 30 Myr.

Cluster survival is robust across different initial conditions.

Dispersal mechanisms do not significantly disrupt cluster longevity.

Abstract

Star clusters are formed in molecular clouds which are believed to be the birth places of most stars. From recent observational data, Lada & Lada 2003 estimated that only 4% to 7% of the clusters embedded inside molecular clouds have survived. An important mechanism for the disruption of embedded (bound)-clusters is the dispersion of the parent cloud by UV radiation, stellar winds and/or supernova explosions. In this work we study the effect of this mechanism by N-body simulations. We find that most embedded-clusters survive for more than 30 Myr even when different initial conditions of the cluster may introduce some minor variations, but the general result is rather robust.