Primordial mass segregation of star clusters: The role of binary stars

V. Pavlík
2020 Contributions of the Astronomical Observatory Skalnaté Pleso  
Observational results of young star-forming regions suggest that star clusters are completely mass segregated at birth. As a star cluster evolves dynamically, these initial conditions are gradually lost. For star clusters with single stars only and a canonical IMF, it has been suggested that traces of these initial conditions vanish at τv between 3 and 3.5 half-mass relaxation times. Here, by means of numerical models, we investigate the role of the primordial binary population on the loss of
more » ... imordial mass segregation. We found that τv does not depend on the binary star distribution, yielding 3 < τv/t rh < 3.5. We also conclude that the completely mass segregated clusters, even with binaries, are more compatible with the present-day ONC than the non-segregated ones.
doi:10.31577/caosp.2020.50.2.456 fatcat:qn47pu5svnfqxleog5n4drfg2y