Bibcode
Wünsch, Richard; Palouš, Jan; Tenorio-Tagle, Guillermo; Silich, Sergiy; Muñoz-Tuñón, Casiana
Bibliographical reference
Star clusters: basic galactic building blocks throughout time and space, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 266, p. 555-555
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1
2010
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Super star clusters (SSCs) are young massive objects typically observed
in starburst galaxies. They consist of millions of stars occupying
volumes only several parsecs across. Recent infrared observations of
SSCs reveal strong emission lines with moderately supersonic widths
(FWHM ~ 50 - 100 km s-1). An additional, much
broader and weaker line component is present in some cases. Using 2D and
3D hydrodynamic simulations, we study models of SSCs in the so-called
bimodal regime, which occurs if the stellar density inside the cluster
exceeds a certain limit. We confirm the existence of the bimodal
solution predicted analytically and suggest an explanation for
double-component line profiles: the narrow component is formed close to
the cluster center by repressurizing shocks compressing the rarefied gas
cooled down due to the thermal instability into dense cold clumps, while
the broad component is created by the wind, which cools down at a
certain distance from the cluster.