The early evolution of the star cluster mass function

Abstract

Several recent studies have shown that the star cluster initial mass function (CIMF) can be well approximated by a power law, with indications for a steepening or truncation at high masses. This contribution considers the evolution of such a mass function due to cluster disruption, with emphasis on the part of the mass function that is observable in the first ~1Gyr. A Schechter type function is used for the CIMF, with a power-law index of -2 at low masses and an exponential truncation at M*. Cluster disruption due to the tidal field of the host galaxy and encounters with giant molecular clouds flattens the low-mass end of the mass function, but there is always a part of the 'evolved Schechter function' that can be approximated by a power law with index -2. The mass range for which this holds depends on age, τ, and shifts to higher masses roughly as τ0.6. Mean cluster masses derived from luminosity-limited samples increase with age very similarly due to the evolutionary fading of clusters. Empirical mass functions are, therefore, approximately power laws with index -2, or slightly steeper, at all ages. The results are illustrated by an application to the star cluster population of the interacting galaxy M51, which can be well described by a model with M* = (1.9 ± 0.5) × 105 M⊙ and a short (mass-dependent) disruption time destroying M* clusters in roughly a Gyr. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 RAS.