Formation and evolution of young massive clusters in galaxy mergers: the SMUGGLE view

Author:

Li Hui12ORCID,Vogelsberger Mark2ORCID,Bryan Greg L13ORCID,Marinacci Federico4ORCID,Sales Laura V5ORCID,Torrey Paul6ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Astronomy, Columbia University , New York, NY 10027, USA

2. Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

3. Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003, USA

4. Department of Physics & Astronomy ‘Augusto Righi’, University of Bologna , via Gobetti 93/2, I-40129 Bologna, Italy

5. Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California , Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA

6. Department of Astronomy, University of Florida , 211 Bryant Space Sciences Center, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Galaxy mergers are known to host abundant young massive cluster (YMC) populations, whose formation mechanism is still not well-understood. Here, we present a high-resolution galaxy merger simulation with explicit star formation and stellar feedback prescriptions to investigate how mergers affect the properties of the interstellar medium and YMCs. Compared with a controlled simulation of an isolated galaxy, the mass fraction of dense and high-pressure gas is much higher in mergers. Consequently, the mass function of both molecular clouds and YMCs becomes shallower and extends to higher masses. Moreover, cluster formation efficiency is significantly enhanced and correlates positively with the star formation rate surface density and gas pressure. We track the orbits of YMCs and investigate the time evolution of tidal fields during the course of the merger. At an early stage of the merger, the tidal field strength correlates positively with YMC mass, λtid ∝ M0.71, which systematically affects the shape of the mass function and age distribution of the YMCs. At later times, most YMCs closely follow the orbits of their host galaxies, gradually sinking into the centre of the merger remnant due to dynamical friction, and are quickly dissolved via efficient tidal disruption. Interestingly, YMCs formed during the first passage, mostly in tidal tails and bridges, are distributed over a wide range of galactocentric radii, greatly increasing their survivability because of the much weaker tidal field in the outskirts of the merger system. These YMCs are promising candidates for globular clusters that survive to the present day.

Funder

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Space Telescope Science Institute

NSF

Simons Foundation

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Space and Planetary Science,Astronomy and Astrophysics

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