Short gamma-ray bursts from binary neutron star mergers in globular clusters (2005)
Grindlay, Jonathan, Zwart, Simon Portegies, McMillan, Stephen
The first locations of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in elliptical galaxies suggest they are produced by the mergers of double neutron star (DNS) binaries in old stellar populations. Globular...
Stellar Collisions and Black Hole Formation in Dense Star Clusters (2004)
McMillan, Stephen, Zwart, Simon Portegies
Close encounters and physical collisions between stars in young dense clusters may lead to the formation of very massive stars and black holes via runaway merging. We examine critically some details...
Life and Death of Young Dense Star Clusters near the Galactic Center (2004)
Zwart, Simon Portegies, McMillan, Stephen, Baumgardt, Holger
We discuss the structural change and degree of mass segregation of young dense star clusters within about 100pc of the Galactic center. In our calculations, which are performed with GRAPE-6, the...
The formation of massive black holes through collision runaway in dense young star clusters (2004)
Zwart, Simon Portegies, Baumgardt, Holger, Hut, Piet, Makino, Junichiro, McMillan, Stephen
A luminous X-ray source is associated with a cluster (MGG-11) of young stars \~200pc from the center of the starburst galaxy M82. The properties of the X-ray source are best explained by a black hole...
The lives and deaths of star clusters near the Galactic center (2001)
Zwart, Simon Portegies, Makino, Junichiro, McMillan, Stephen, Hut, Piet
We study the evolution and observability of young, compact star clusters near the Galactic center, such as the Arches and Quintuplet systems. The clusters are modeled by integrating the equations of...
How many young star clusters exist in the Galactic center? (2000)
Zwart, Simon Portegies, Makino, Junichiro, McMillan, Stephen, Hut, Piet
We study the evolution and observability of young compact star clusters within about 200pc of the Galactic center. Calculations are performed using direct N-body integration on the GRAPE-4, including...
Merger rates of black hole binaries: prospects for gravitational wave detectors (1999)
Zwart, Simon Portegies, McMillan, Stephen
Mergers of black-hole binaries are expected to release large amounts of energy in the form of gravitational radiation. However, binary evolution models predict merger rates too low to be of...
Black hole mergers in the universe (1999)
Zwart, Simon Portegies, McMillan, Stephen
Mergers of black-hole binaries are expected to release large amounts of energy in the form of gravitational radiation. However, binary evolution models predict merger rates too low to be of...
On the dissolution of evolving star clusters (1998)
Zwart, Simon Portegies, Hut, Piet, Makino, Junichiro, McMillan, Stephen
Using direct N-body simulations which include both the evolution of single stars and the tidal field of the parent galaxy, we study the dynamical evolution of globular clusters and rich open...