Internal Structure of Stellar Clusters: Geometry of Star Formation

TL;DR

This paper reviews observational and numerical evidence on the internal structures of star clusters, discussing their evolution from fractal, clumpy formations to more condensed states and exploring the complexities involved.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive summary of current observational and numerical findings on star cluster structures and their evolution, highlighting unresolved issues.

Findings

Open clusters evolve from clumpy to condensed structures.

Young clusters may show radial patterns due to early gravitational effects.

Some clusters retain fractal or clumpy structures over time.

Abstract

The study of the internal structure of star clusters provides important clues concerning their formation mechanism and dynamical evolution. There are both observational and numerical evidences indicating that open clusters evolve from an initial clumpy structure, presumably a direct consequence of the formation in a fractal medium, toward a centrally condensed state. This simple picture has, however, several drawbacks. There can be very young clusters exhibiting radial patterns maybe reflecting the early effect of gravity on primordial gas. There can be also very evolved cluster showing fractal patterns that either have survived through time or have been generated subsequently by some (unknown) mechanism. Additionally, the fractal structure of some open clusters is much clumpier than the average structure of the interstellar medium in the Milky Way, although in principle a very similar structure should be expected. Here we summarize and discuss observational and numerical results concerning this subject.