SCYON Abstract

Received on September 28 2006

Cluster Disruption: Combining Theory and Observations

AuthorsNate Bastian (1) and Mark Gieles (2)
Affiliation
(1) University College London
(2) Utrecht University
To appear inInvited Review. To appear in "Mass loss from stars and the evolution of stellar clusters". Proc. of a workshop held in honour of H.J.G.L.M. Lamers, Lunteren, The Netherlands. Eds. A. de Koter, L. Smith and R. Waters (San Francisco: ASP)
Contactbastian@star.ucl.ac.uk
URLhttp://www.arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609669
Links

Abstract

We review the theory and observations of star cluster disruption. The three main phases and corresponding typical timescales of cluster disruption are: I) Infant Mortality (∼107 yr), II) Stellar Evolution (∼108 yr) and III) Tidal relaxation (∼109 yr). During all three phases there are additional tidal external perturbations from the host galaxy. In this review we focus on the physics and observations of Phase I and on population studies of Phases II & III and external perturbations concentrating on cluster-GMC interactions. Particular attention is given to the successes and short-comings of the Lamers cluster disruption law, which has recently been shown to stand on a firm physical footing.