We report on the extent of the effects of the Milky Way ’ s gravitational field in shaping the structural parameters and internal dynamics of its globular cluster population .
We make use of a homogeneous , up-to-date data set with kinematics , structural properties , current and initial masses of 156 globular clusters .
In general , cluster radii increase as the Milky Way potential weakens ; with the core and Jacobi radii being those which increase at the slowest and fastest rate respectively .
We interpret this result as the innermost regions of globular clusters being less sensitive to changes in the tidal forces with the Galactocentric distance .
The Milky Way ’ s gravitational field also seems to have differentially accelerated the internal dynamical evolution of individual clusters , with those toward the bulge appearing dynamically older .
Finally we find a sub-population consisting of both compact and extended globular clusters ( as defined by their r _ { h } / r _ { J } ratio ) beyond 8 kpc that appear to have lost a large fraction of their initial mass lost via disruption .
Moreover , we identify a third group with r _ { h } / r _ { J } > 0.4 , which have lost an even larger fraction of their initial mass by disruption .
In both cases the high fraction of mass lost is likely due to their large orbital eccentricities and inclination angles , which lead to them experiencing more tidal shocks at perigalacticon and during disc crossings .
Comparing the structural and orbital parameters of individual clusters allows for constraints to be placed on whether or not their evolution was relaxation or tidally dominated .