Characteristic radii of the Milky Way Globular Clusters

TL;DR

This study analyzes how the Milky Way's gravitational field influences the structure and evolution of its globular clusters, revealing correlations between cluster radii, mass loss, and orbital dynamics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the structural and dynamical effects of the Milky Way's gravity on globular clusters using a homogeneous data set of 156 clusters.

Findings

Cluster radii increase with distance from the Galactic center.

Inner regions of clusters are less affected by tidal forces.

Clusters with high orbital eccentricity experience more mass loss.

Abstract

We report on the extent of the effects of the Milky Way's gravitational field in shaping the structural parameters and internal dynamics of its globular cluster population. We make use of a homogeneous, up-to-date data set with kinematics, structural properties, current and initial masses of 156 globular clusters. In general, cluster radii increase as the Milky Way potential weakens; with the core and Jacobi radii being those which increase at the slowest and fastest rate respectively. We interpret this result as the innermost regions of globular clusters being less sensitive to changes in the tidal forces with the Galactocentric distance. The Milky Way's gravitational field also seems to have differentially accelerated the internal dynamical evolution of individual clusters, with those toward the bulge appearing dynamically older. Finally we find a sub-population consisting of both compact and extended globular clusters (as defined by their rh/rJ ratio) beyond 8 kpc that appear to have lost a large fraction of their initial mass lost via disruption. Moreover, we identify a third group with rh/rJ > 0.4, which have lost an even larger fraction of their initial mass by disruption. In both cases the high fraction of mass lost is likely due to their large orbital eccentricities and inclination angles, which lead to them experiencing more tidal shocks at perigalacticon and during disc crossings. Comparing the structural and orbital parameters of individual clusters allows for constraints to be placed on whether or not their evolution was relaxation or tidally dominated.