Parameters of Core Collapse

H. Baumgardt, Heggie, D.C., Hut, P., Makino, J.

Abstract:

This paper considers the phenomenon of deep core collapse in collisional stellar systems, with stars of equal mass. The collapse takes place on some multiple, $\xi ^{-1},$ of the central relaxation time, and produces a density profile in which $\rho\propto r^{-\alpha},$ where $\alpha $ is a constant. The parameters $\alpha $ and $\xi $ have usually been determined from simplified models, such as gas and Fokker-Planck models, often with the simplification of isotropy. Here we determine the parameters directly from $N$-body simulations carried out using the newly completed GRAPE-6.


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