Dynamical Evolution of Globular Clusters

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。印第安纳大学的科恩和卢格尔将继续他们的研究项目，对球状星团的动态演化进行理论和观测调查。主要目标是：为球状星团建立现实的、不断发展的动态模型；利用地面望远镜和哈勃太空望远镜开展球状星团结构、运动学和恒星含量的大规模光学观测研究；并用数值模型拟合球状星团的观测数据。

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 and Lugger at the University of Indiana will continue their research program of theoretical and observational investigations of the dynamical evolution of globular clusters. The principal goals are: to develop realistic, evolving, dynamical models for globular clusters; to carry out large scale optical observational studies of globular cluster structure, kinematics, and stellar content, using both ground-based telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope; and to fit observational data for globular clusters with numerical models.