The Effects of Stellar Collisions in Dense Stellar Systems

Effects of stellar collisions, such as mass and energy losses and the question of whether or not two colliding stars coalesce to form a more massive star, are investigated by numerical calculations which utilixe a simple physical model. The results of these calculations are then applied by use of Ionte Carlo techniques in a computer simulation of dense stellar systems in order to indicate approximately how the distribution of stellar masses changes as the systems evolve. In the simulation of a system with a total mass of 10 M0 it is found that coalescence does not lead to the buildup of massive stars, whereas for a 10 A'0 system there is a pronounced tendency to build up a few very massive stars. The supernova rate from coalesced stars in 10 M0 and 10 M0 systems is incapable of explaining the luminosities of Seyfert galaxies or QSOs.