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arxiv 2504.06749 v1 pith:R2MQD6AB submitted 2025-04-09 astro-ph.GA

Evidence of star cluster migration and merger in dwarf galaxies

classification astro-ph.GA
keywords galaxiesbeenclustersdwarfmigrationstarstellarexplain
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
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Nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are the densest stellar systems in the Universe. They can be found at the center of all galaxy types, but tend to favor galaxies of intermediate stellar mass around 10$^9\,$M$_{\odot}$[1, 2]. Currently, two main processes are under debate to explain their formation: in-situ star-formation from gas infall[3] and migration and merging of globular clusters (GCs) caused by dynamical friction[4]. Studies[5-9] of NSC stellar populations suggest that the former predominates in massive galaxies, the latter prevails in dwarf galaxies, and both contribute equally at intermediate mass. However, up to now, no ongoing merger of GCs has yet been observed to confirm this scenario. Here we report the serendipitous discovery of five dwarf galaxies with complex nuclear regions, characterized by multiple nuclei and tidal tails, using high resolution images from the Hubble Space Telescope. These structures have been reproduced in complementary N-body simulations, supporting the interpretation that they result from migrating and merging of star clusters. The small detection rate and short simulated timescales (below 100 Myr) of this process may explain why this has not been observed previously. This study highlights the need of large surveys with high resolution to fully map the migration scenario steps.

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Cited by 1 Pith paper

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  1. Predicting intermediate-mass black hole formation in star clusters with machine learning

    astro-ph.GA 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Machine learning regressors trained on Rapster simulations forecast that globular clusters rarely host black holes above 100 solar masses while a few nuclear star clusters may exceed this threshold.