In a dynamically relaxed globular cluster core, what describes the star's velocity distribution?
Answer
Isotropic
Globular clusters, due to their extreme density and long history of frequent stellar interactions, evolve toward a state known as relaxation. When a system reaches this relaxed state, the individual orbital histories of the stars become largely erased through numerous gravitational encounters. The result is that the distribution of stellar velocities becomes isotropic, meaning there is no preferred direction of motion; stars move randomly in all directions relative to the cluster's center of mass. This randomization occurs because the cluster's relaxation time is shorter than the cluster's overall age, allowing enough close encounters to effectively thermalize the system's dynamics.
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