Matthew J. Benacquista
Montana State University-Billings
1500 N. 30th
Billings, Montana 59101http://www.msubillings.edu/ScienceFaculty/Benacquista
The galactic population of globular clusters are old, dense star systems, with a typical
cluster containing stars. As an old population of stars, globular clusters contain
many collapsed and degenerate objects. As a dense population of stars, globular clusters are
the scene of many interesting close dynamical interactions between stars. These dynamical
interactions can alter the evolution of individual stars and can produce tight binary systems
containing one or two compact objects. In this review, we discuss the theoretical models of
globular cluster evolution and binary evolution, techniques for simulating this evolution which
lead to relativistic binaries, and current and possible future observational evidence for this
population. Globular cluster evolution will focus on the properties that boost the production
of hard binary systems and on the tidal interactions of the galaxy with the cluster, which tend
to alter the structure of the globular cluster with time. The interaction of the components of
hard binary systems alters the evolution of both bodies and can lead to exotic objects. Direct
-body integrations and Fokker-Planck simulations of the evolution of globular clusters that
incorporate tidal interactions and lead to predictions of relativistic binary populations are also
discussed. We discuss the current observational evidence for cataclysmic variables, millisecond
pulsars, and low-mass X-ray binaries as well as possible future detection of relativistic binaries
with gravitational radiation.
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http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2006-2 |
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