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We use direct $N$-body calculations to study the evolution of the unusually extended outer halo globular cluster Palomar 4 (Pal~4) over its entire lifetime in order to reproduce its observed mass, half-light radius, velocity dispersion and mass function slope at different radii. We find that models evolving on circular orbits, and starting from a non-mass segregated, canonical initial mass function (IMF) can reproduce neither Pal 4s overall mass function slope nor the observed amount of mass segregation. Including either primordial mass segregation or initially flattened IMFs does not reproduce the observed amount of mass segregation and mass function flattening simultaneously. Unresolved binaries cannot reconcile this discrepancy either. We find that only models with both a flattened IMF and primordial segregation are able to fit the observations. The initial (i.e. after gas expulsion) mass and half-mass radius of Pal~4 in this case are about 57000 M${odot}$ and 10 pc, respectively. This configuration is more extended than most globular clusters we observe, showing that the conditions under which Pal~4 formed must have been significantly different from that of the majority of globular clusters. We discuss possible scenarios for such an unusual configuration of Pal~4 in its early years.
Stellar tidal streams are sensitive tracers of the properties of the gravitational potential in which they orbit and detailed observations of their density structure can be used to place stringent constraints on fluctuations in the potential caused b
Star clusters form via clustering star formation inside molecular clouds. In order to understand the dynamical evolution of star clusters in their early phase, in which star clusters are still embedded in their surrounding gas, we need an accurate in
In the framework of the STREGA (STRucture and Evolution of the GAlaxy) survey, two fields around the globular cluster Pal 12 were observed with the aim of detecting the possible presence of streams and/or an extended halo. The adopted stellar tracers
Two aspects of our recent N-body studies of star clusters are presented: (1) What impact does mass segregation and selective mass loss have on integrated photometry? (2) How well compare results from N-body simulations using NBODY4 and STARLAB/KIRA?
We describe a major upgrade of a Monte Carlo code which has previously been used for many studies of dense star clusters. We outline the steps needed in order to calibrate the results of the new Monte Carlo code against $N$-body simulations for large