Dynamical Evolution of Globular Clusters and Galactic Nuclei

了解致密恒星系统的动态演化，如球状星团和星系核，是引力天体物理学中最基本的问题之一。近年来，由于理论和观测方面的进展，在实现这一目标方面取得了实质性进展。频繁的恒星-恒星引力相互作用导致这些系统的整体结构在天体物理学上有趣的时间尺度上发生深刻的演变。强大的计算机模拟方法已经牢固地确立了球状星团向星团核心坍缩的必然演化。新的观测仪器的出现以及从地面观测站获得高角度分辨率的能力都导致了对球状星团和星系核的观测研究取得了重大进展。Drs。印第安纳大学的Cohn、Lugger和Durisen进行了一项重大的研究工作，以扩展我们对星团演化的理解。超级计算机已经成为这项研究的重要工具。球状星团为恒星动力学理论的观测测试提供了一个极好的实验室，而恒星动力学理论是该小组正常星系核和活动星系核模型的基础。这个小组和其他人正在获得的关于球状星团和星系核结构的丰富观测数据为理论建模提供了坚实的基础。

Understanding the dynamical evolution of dense stellar systems, such as globular clusters and galactic nuclei, is one of the most fundamental problems of gravitational astrophysics. Substantial progress towards this goal has been made in recent years as a result of both theoretical and observational advances. Frequent star-star gravitational interactions cause a profound evolution of the overall structure of these systems on astrophysically interesting time scales. Powerful computer simulation methods have firmly established the inevitable evolution of globular clusters of stars toward the collapse of the core of the cluster. The advent of new observing instrumentation and the ability to achieve high angular resolution from ground based observatories have both led to significant advances in the observational study of globular clusters and galactic nuclei. Drs. Cohn, Lugger, and Durisen, at the University of Indiana, have undertaken a major research effort to extend our understanding of stellar cluster evolution. Supercomputers have become an essential tool in this investigation. Globular clusters provide an excellent laboratory for observational tests of the stellar dynamical theory that underlies this group's models of normal and active galactic nuclei. The wealth of observational data on the structure of globular clusters and galactic nuclei that is being acquired by this group and others provides a firm basis for the theoretical modeling.