A numerical investigation is presented which seeks to extend our knowledge of tidal effects on spherical stellar systems. The approach used was essentially the solution of the three-body equations of motion. Three different systems were computed. In each, the orbits of many test particles were computed in the field of a smooth, spherically symmetric cluster model, which, in turn, moved in its own orbit around a model galaxy. The effect of the tidal fields on the stellar orbits was investigated by observing the evolution of the orbits in energy and in angular momentum. The main conclusion reached is that star clusters rotating in a retrograde sense are more stable in a tidal field than clusters with either direct rotation or no rotation. Shock disruption times of a tidal field were also investigated. Observations that support these effects are presented. Finally, we investigate the galactic orbits of stars which escape from their parent systems due to tidal forces.
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Keenan et al. (1975) studied this question.