Phase-space mixing of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters

TL;DR

This study investigates how multiple stellar populations in globular clusters dynamically mix over time, linking theoretical phase-space analysis with observable structural and kinematic differences to better understand cluster evolution.

Contribution

It introduces new parameters to quantify phase-space mixing and connects these with observable properties, enhancing understanding of globular cluster dynamics and formation history.

Findings

Differences in phase space reflect dynamical age of clusters.

New parameters effectively trace velocity anisotropy and angular momentum differences.

Observational differences contain key information about cluster formation and evolution.

Abstract

Context: Globular clusters (GCs) host multiple populations characterised by abundance variations in a number of light elements. In many cases, these populations also show spatial and/or kinematic differences, which vary in strength from cluster to cluster and tend to decrease with the clusters' dynamical ages. Aims: In this work, we aim to study the dynamical mixing of multiple populations and establish a link between the more theoretical aspects of the mixing process and various observational parameters that quantify differences between the populations' spatial concentration and velocity anisotropy. Methods: We follow the dynamical mixing of multiple populations in a set of numerical simulations through their distribution in the energy and angular momentum phase space and quantify the evolution of their degree of dynamical mixing. Results: We present the degree of dynamical mixing traced by the intrinsic differences in the phase space distribution of the populations. We compare the differences in phase-space with three observable quantities that describe the degree of mixing in the structural and kinematic differences of the populations: $A^{+}$, commonly used in the literature for spatial differences; and we introduce two new parameters, $\Delta A_{\beta}$ that traces the difference in velocity anisotropy and $\sigma_{\text{Lz}}$, that traces the angular momentum distribution of stars. Conclusions: Our study provides new insights into the dynamics of phase space mixing of multiple populations in globular clusters. We show that differences between the 1P and the 2P observed in old clusters contain key information on the cluster's dynamics and the 1P and the 2P spatial and kinematic properties set by the formation processes, but caution is necessary in using the strength of the present-day differences to quantitatively constrain those imprinted at the time of formation.