We investigate the dynamical evolution of compact young star clusters ( CYCs ) near the Galactic center ( GC ) using Aarseth ’ s Nbody6 codes .
The relatively small number of stars in the cluster ( 5,000–20,000 ) makes real-number N-body simulations for these clusters feasible on current workstations .
Using Fokker-Planck ( F-P ) models , \markcite KML99Kim , Morris , & Lee ( 1999 ) have made a survey of cluster lifetimes for various initial conditions , and have found that clusters with a mass \mathrel { \hbox to 0.0 pt { \lower 3.0 pt \hbox { $ \mathchar 536 $ } \hss } \raise 2.0 pt% \hbox { $ \mathchar 316 $ } } 2 \times 10 ^ { 4 } { M _ { \odot } } evaporate in \sim 10 Myr .
These results were , however , to be confirmed by N-body simulations because some extreme cluster conditions , such as strong tidal forces and a large stellar mass range participating in the dynamical evolution , might violate assumptions made in F-P models .
Here we find that , in most cases , the CYC lifetimes of previous F-P calculations are 5– 30 \% shorter than those from the present N-body simulations .
The comparison of projected number density profiles and stellar mass functions between N-body simulations and HST /NICMOS observations by \markcite Fe99Figer et al .
( 1999 ) suggests that the current tidal radius of the Arches cluster is \sim 1.0 pc , and the following parameters for the initial conditions of that cluster : total mass of 2 \times 10 ^ { 4 } { M _ { \odot } } and mass function slope for intermediate-to-massive stars of 1.75 ( the Salpeter function has 2.35 ) .
We also find that the lower stellar mass limit , the presence of primordial binaries , the amount of initial mass segregation , and the choice of initial density profile ( King or Plummer models ) do not significantly affect the dynamical evolution of CYCs .