Towards an N-body Model for the Globular Cluster M4

TL;DR

This study develops an N-body simulation model for the globular cluster M4, aiming to replicate its observed properties and compare its evolution with previous models and actual data.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed N-body model for M4 based on initial conditions from a Monte Carlo study, enabling direct comparison of dynamical evolution.

Findings

N-body model reproduces M4's surface brightness profile

Model matches velocity dispersion observations

Evolution aligns with Monte Carlo and EMACSS results

Abstract

This paper describes an N-body model for the dynamical evolution of the nearby globular cluster M4. The initial conditions, with N = 484710 particles, were generated from a published study of this cluster with a Monte Carlo code. With the Monte Carlo code, these initial conditions led, after 12 Gyr of dynamical and stellar evolution, to a model which resembles M4 in terms of its surface brightness and velocity dispersion profiles, and its local luminosity function. Though the N-body model reported here is marred by some errors, its evolution can be compared with that of the published Monte Carlo model, with a result from the synthetic evolution code EMACSS, and with M4 itself.