Search for: All records

ABSTRACT Most stars are born in the crowded environments of gradually forming star clusters. Dynamical interactions between close-passing stars and the evolving ultraviolet radiation fields from proximate massive stars are expected to sculpt the protoplanetary discs (PPDs) in these clusters, potentially contributing to the diversity of planetary systems that we observe. Here, we investigate the impact of cluster environment on disc demographics by implementing simple PPD evolution models within N-body simulations of gradual star cluster formation, containing 50 per cent primordial binaries. We consider a range of star formation efficiency per free-fall time, $$\epsilon _{\rm ff}$$, and mass surface density of the natal cloud environment, $$\Sigma _{\rm cloud}$$, both of which affect the overall duration of cluster formation. We track the interaction history of all stars to estimate the dynamical truncation of the discs around stars involved in close encounters. We also track external photoevaporation of the discs due to the ionizing radiation field of the nearby high- and intermediate-mass ($$\gt 5\,{\rm M}_\odot$$) stars. We find that $$\epsilon _{\rm ff}$$, $$\Sigma _{\rm cloud}$$, and the presence of primordial binaries have major influences on the masses and radii of the disc population. In particular, external photoevaporation has a greater impact than dynamical interactions in determining the fate of discs in our clusters. 

ABSTRACT We study the formation and early evolution of star clusters that have a wide range of masses and background cloud mass surface densities, Σcloud, which help set the initial sizes, densities, and velocity dispersions of the natal gas clumps. Initial clump masses of 300, 3000, and 30 000 M⊙ are considered, from which star clusters are born with an assumed 50  per cent overall star formation efficiency and with 50  per cent primordial binarity. This formation is gradual, i.e. with a range of star formation efficiencies per free-fall time from 1 to 100  per cent, so that the formation time can range from 0.7 Myr for low-mass, high-Σcloud clumps to ∼30 Myr for high-mass, low-Σcloud clumps. Within this framework of the turbulent clump model, for a given Σcloud, clumps of higher mass are of lower initial volume density, but their dynamical evolution leads to higher bound fractions and causes them to form much higher density cluster cores and maintain these densities for longer periods. This results in systematic differences in the evolution of binary properties, degrees of mass segregation, and rates of creation of dynamically ejected runaways. We discuss the implications of these results for observed star clusters and stellar populations.