On the Lifetimes of Galactic Clusters

Abstract

From the observed age distribution of galactic clusters within 1 kpc we deduce that the typical total lifetime of a galactic cluster is about 2 × 10⁸ yr. The individual lifetimes vary between 10⁸ and 10¹⁰ yr. The observed lifetimes are compared with the evaporation times which are found from numerical experiments with star cluster models. These models contain up to 250 stars with a realistic mass spectrum. The effect of the galactic tidal field is taken into account and enhances the rate of escape significantly. Escapers are identified by using the Jacobian integral. We give the evaporation time in years as a function of the median radius for different values of the total mass of a cluster. The agreement between the resulting theoretical lifetimes and the observed values is sufficiently good. We estimate that the tidal field of passing interstellar clouds should be in most cases less efficient in dissolving a galactic cluster than the internal evaporation process combined with the effect of the general galactic field.