Determining the dynamical age of the LMC globular cluster NGC 1835 using the `dynamical clock'. Star density profile and blue straggler stars

Abstract

In the context of the study of the size-age relationship observed in star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the investigation of its origin, we present the determination of the structural parameters and the dynamical age of the massive cluster NGC 1835. We used the powerful combination of optical and near-ultraviolet images acquired with the WFC3 on board the HST to construct the star density profile from resolved star counts, determining the values of the core, half-mass, and tidal radii through comparison with the King model family. The same data also allowed us to evaluate the dynamical age of the cluster by using the `dynamical clock'. This is an empirical method that quantifies the level of the central segregation of blue stragglers stars (BSSs) within the cluster half-mass radius by means of the A_rh⁺ parameter, which is defined as the area enclosed between the cumulative radial distribution of BSSs and that of a reference (lighter) population. The results confirm that NGC 1835 is a very compact cluster with a core radius of only 0.84 pc. The estimated value of A_rh⁺ (0.30 ± 0.04) is the largest measured so far in the LMC clusters, providing evidence of a highly dynamically evolved stellar system. NGC 1835 fits nicely into the correlation between A_rh⁺ and the central relaxation time and in the anti-correlation between A_rh⁺ and the core radius defined by the Galactic and Magellanic Cloud clusters investigated to date.

The data output are available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/687/A310

Based on observations with the NASA/ESA HST, obtained under programme GO 16361 (PI: Ferraro). The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.