Fractal dimension of star clusters

TL;DR

This paper applies fractal dimension analysis, using box covering and MST methods, to study the structure and evolution of star clusters, revealing disintegration at a fractal dimension of 1.3 and comparing results with McLuster simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a combined methodology using MST and box covering to analyze star cluster fractal structures and their evolution.

Findings

Star clusters disintegrate at a fractal dimension of 1.3.

Fractal structure obeys a power law.

Results are compared with McLuster simulations.

Abstract

Quantitative analysis of the structure of star clusters is crucial for understanding their formation and evolution. In this article, we explore the application of fractal dimension analysis to study the evolution of star clusters, also fractal dimension, a concept from fractal geometry, provides a quantitative measure of the complexity and self-similarity of geometric objects. By considering star clusters as complex networks, we employ the box covering method to calculate their fractal dimension. Our methodology combines the well-established Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) and Box-Covering (BC) methods and using these methods, the fractal structure of the clusters was determined. It was revealed that star clusters disintegrate at a fractal dimension of 1.3 and obey a power law. It should be noted that the obtained result was compared with the results of the McLuster.