# Massive Star Cluster Formation and Destruction in Luminous Infrared Galaxies in GOALS

## TL;DR

This study uses Hubble Space Telescope data to analyze star cluster populations in 22 luminous infrared galaxies, revealing rapid cluster disruption and a high formation rate of massive clusters in extreme galactic environments.

## Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of star cluster properties in LIRGs, showing rapid disruption and high-mass cluster formation compared to lower luminosity galaxies.

## Key findings

- Cluster age distribution declines as τ^{-0.9}, indicating rapid disruption.
- LIRGs produce more high-mass clusters than lower luminosity galaxies.
- Cluster mass distribution follows a power law with index -1.95, consistent with universal initial cluster mass function.

## Abstract

We present the results of a {\it Hubble Space Telescope} ACS/HRC FUV, ACS/WFC optical study into the cluster populations of a sample of 22 Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey. Through integrated broadband photometry we have derived ages and masses for a total of 484 star clusters contained within these systems. This allows us to examine the properties of star clusters found in the extreme environments of LIRGs relative to lower luminosity star-forming galaxies in the local Universe. We find that by adopting a Bruzual \& Charlot simple stellar population (SSP) model and Salpeter initial mass function, the age distribution of clusters declines as $dN/d\tau = \tau^{-0.9 +/- 0.3}$, consistent with the age distribution derived for the Antennae Galaxies, and interpreted as evidence for rapid cluster disruption occuring in the strong tidal fields of merging galaxies. The large number of $10^{6} M_{\odot}$ young clusters identified in the sample also suggests that LIRGs are capable of producing more high-mass clusters than what is observed to date in any lower luminosity star-forming galaxy in the local Universe. The observed cluster mass distribution of $dN/dM = M^{-1.95 +/- 0.11}$ is consistent with the canonical -2 power law used to describe the underlying initial cluster mass function (ICMF) for a wide range of galactic environments. We interpret this as evidence against mass-dependent cluster disruption, which would flatten the observed CMF relative to the underlying ICMF distribution.