a) Number of merged star clusters versus parameter β for different values of α for orbit 1 after 5 Gyr. The horizontal dashed line marks the number of star clusters in the initial CC. The vertical dashed line separates the CC models with β < 1 from the CC models with β > 1. b) Number of merged star clusters against CC mass for different CC sizes. The horizontal dashed line denotes the number of star clusters in the initial CC as in Fig. 6a.