Dynamical and spectral properties of some double clusters in the LMC

Pursuant to Bhatia and Hatzidimitriou's (1988) suggestion as to the existence of binary star clusters in the LMC, a dynamical and star-population study was conducted for some of the cataloged candidate pairs. Positive evidence was obtained of significant distortions in cluster density profiles, especially in the outer regions; these disturbances are interpreted as indicators of dynamical interaction between pair members. Some of the pairs possess very similar stellar content, with ages ranging from tens of millions to several hundreds of million years. 7 refs