The Structure and Dynamic Instability of Isothermal Relativistic Star Clusters

Abstract

The structure and dynamic stability of isothermal relativistic star clusters are discussed both for the case of clusters without dispersion in stellar rest mass and for two families of clusters with dispersion in stellar rest mass. We show that the former are dynamically unstable if the central redshift is greater than about 0'5, and that the latter are dynamically unstable if the central redshift is greater than about O' 6, so that the inclusion of dispersion in mass does not greatly affect the stability of isothermal relativistic star clusters.