Young star cluster evolution and metallicity

TL;DR

This paper uses N-body simulations to study how metallicity influences the dynamical evolution of young star clusters, revealing that metal-rich clusters experience faster core collapse reversal due to stronger stellar winds.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation approach incorporating metal-dependent stellar evolution to analyze metallicity effects on star cluster dynamics.

Findings

Metal-rich clusters have faster core collapse reversal.

Stellar winds are stronger in metal-rich clusters.

Metallicity significantly impacts cluster size evolution.

Abstract

Young star clusters (SCs) are the cradle of stars and the site of important dynamical processes. We present N-body simulations of young SCs including recipes for metal-dependent stellar evolution and mass loss by stellar winds. We show that metallicity affects significantly the collapse and post-core collapse phase, provided that the core collapse timescale is of the same order of magnitude as the lifetime of massive stars. In particular, the reversal of core collapse is faster for metal-rich SCs, where stellar winds are stronger. As a consequence, the half-mass radius of metal-poor SCs expands more than that of metal-rich SCs.