Models of globular clusters predict that core collapse occurs when the more massive stars in a globular cluster encounter their less massive counterparts. Over time, dynamic processes cause individual stars to migrate from the center of the cluster to the outside, resulting in a net loss of kinetic energy from the core region and leading the region's remaining stars to occupy a more compact volume. When this gravothermal instability occurs, the central region of the cluster becomes densely crowded with stars, and the surface brightness of the cluster forms a power-law cusp. A massive black hole at the core could also result in a luminosity cusp. Over a long time, this leads to a concentration of massive stars near the core, a phenomenon called mass segregation.
Models of globular clusters predict that core collapse occurs when the more massive stars in a globular cluster encounter their less massive c.ounterparts. Over time, dynamic processes cause individual stars to migrate from the center of the cluster to the outside resulting in a net loss of kinetic energy from the core region and leading the region's remaining stars to occupy a more compact volume. When this gravothermal instability occurs, the central region of the cluster becomes densely crowded with stars, a,nd the surface brightness of t.he cluster forms a power-law cusp A massive black hole at the core could also result in a luminosity cusp Over a long time, this leads to a concentration of massive stars near the core, a phenomenon called mass segregation.