Formation of star clusters and enrichment by massive stars in simulations of low-metallicity galaxies with a fully sampled initial stellar mass function [GA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2211.15705


We present new GRIFFIN project hydrodynamical simulations that model the formation of galactic star cluster populations in low-metallicity ($Z=0.00021$) dwarf galaxies, including radiation, supernova and stellar wind feedback of individual massive stars. In the simulations, stars are sampled from the stellar initial mass function (IMF) down to the hydrogen burning limit of 0.08 M$_\odot$. Mass conservation is enforced within a radius of 1 pc for the formation massive stars. We find that massive stars are preferentially found in star clusters and follow a correlation set at birth between the highest initial stellar mass and the star cluster mass, in agreement with observations. With a fully sampled IMF, star clusters loose mass in the galactic tidal field according to mass-loss rates observed in nearby galaxies. Of the released stellar feedback, 60\% of the supernova material and up to 35\% of the wind material reside either in the hot interstellar medium (ISM) or in gaseous, metal enriched outflows. While stellar winds (instantaneously) and supernovae (delayed) start enriching the ISM right after the first massive stars form, the formation of supernova-enriched stars is significantly delayed (by $>50$ Myr) compared to the formation of stars enriched by stellar winds. The first forming star clusters are therefore solely enriched by stellar wind material. Overall, supernova ejecta dominate the enrichment by mass, while the number of enriched stars is determined by continuous stellar winds. These results present a concept for the formation of chemically distinct populations of stars in bound star clusters, reminiscent of multiple populations in globular clusters.

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N. Lahén, T. Naab, G. Kauffmann, et. al.
Wed, 30 Nov 22
18/81

Comments: 23 pages, 21 figures. Submitted to MNRAS, comments are welcome