Initial Size Distribution of the Galactic Globular Cluster System

TL;DR

This study uses advanced modeling to estimate the initial size distribution of the Milky Way's globular clusters, revealing they were initially larger and more susceptible to tidal disruption than previously thought.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed theoretical prediction of the initial size distribution of Galactic GCs using a comprehensive Fokker-Planck approach, challenging previous assumptions about their initial compactness.

Findings

Initial GCs had a larger size dispersion (~4.6 pc) than current GCs (~2.5 pc).

Total mass of destroyed GCs is estimated at 3-5x10^8 solar masses.

Most initial GCs either shrink, disrupt, or expand due to galactic tides and two-body relaxation.

Abstract

Despite the importance of their size evolution in understanding the dynamical evolution of globular clusters (GCs) of the Milky Way, studies are rare that focus specifically on this issue. Based on the advanced, realistic Fokker-Planck (FP) approach, we predict theoretically the initial size distribution (SD) of the Galactic GCs along with their initial mass function and radial distribution. Over one thousand FP calculations in a wide parameter space have pinpointed the best-fit initial conditions for the SD, mass function, and radial distribution. Our best-fit model shows that the initial SD of the Galactic GCs is of larger dispersion than today's SD, and that typical projected half-light radius of the initial GCs is ~4.6 pc, which is 1.8 times larger than that of the present-day GCs (~2.5 pc). Their large size signifies greater susceptibility to the Galactic tides: the total mass of destroyed GCs reaches 3-5x10^8 M_sun$, several times larger than the previous estimates. Our result challenges a recent view that the Milky Way GCs were born compact on the sub-pc scale, and rather implies that (1) the initial GCs are generally larger than the typical size of the present-day GCs, (2) the initially large GCs mostly shrink and/or disrupt as a result of the galactic tides, and (3) the initially small GCs expand by two-body relaxation, and later shrink by the galactic tides.