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M. Mateo, J. S. Arabadjis (University of Michigan Astronomy Department)
We study the evolution of globular clusters under the influence of two-body relaxation and a time-varying tidal field. The evolution is simulated using N-body simulations. The graininess of the low-N potential field provides the secular relaxation, and an analytic time-dependent tidal field is added to the force field to simulate mass loss by the host system. We find a direct correlation between the host mass loss rate and the scale length of the innermost mass decile. Many globular clusters in the outer halo show a correlation between their half-light radii and their galactocentric distance, supporting the idea that they have been captured from dwarf spheroidal galaxies which have been (or will soon be) destroyed by the tidal field of the Milky Way. We provide a list of clusters known to exist in nearby dSph galaxy satellites of the Milky Way and M31 and compare their properties to those of isolated globular clusters in the outer halo.