2013A&A...552A..94S

The central density, ρ₀, of a stellar cluster is an important physical parameter for determining its evolutionary and dynamical state. How much mass segregation there is or whether the cluster has undergone core collapse both depend on ρ₀. We reanalyze the results of a previous paper that gives the mass density profile of R136 and combine them with both a conservative upper limit for the core parameter and a more uncertain recent measurement. We thus place a lower limit on ρ₀ under reasonable and defensible assumptions about the IMF, finding ρ₀≥1.5x10⁴M_☉/pc³ for the conservative assumption a <0.4pc for the cluster core parameter. If we use the lower, but more uncertain value a=0.025pc, the central density estimate becomes greater than 10⁷M_☉/pc³. A mechanism based on the destruction of a large number of circumstellar disks is posited to explain the hitherto unexplained increase in reddening presented in that same work.