Related papers: Constraining white-dwarf kicks in globular cluster…
We discuss the structural change and degree of mass segregation of young dense star clusters within about 100pc of the Galactic center. In our calculations, which are performed with GRAPE-6, the equations of motion of all stars and binaries…
Young star clusters with masses similar to those of classical old globular clusters are observed not only in starbursts, mergers or otherwise disturbed galaxies, but also in normal spiral galaxies. Some young clusters with masses as high as…
Young stars form on a wide range of scales, producing aggregates and clusters with various degrees of gravitational self-binding. The loose aggregates have a hierarchical structure in both space and time that resembles interstellar…
When a star exhausts its nuclear fuel, it either explodes as a supernova or more quiescently becomes a white dwarf, an object about half the mass of our Sun with a radius of about that of the Earth. About one fifth of white dwarfs exhibit…
I will start by discussing the evolutionary status of the white dwarf *progenitors*, the hot UV bright stars. Observations of UIT-selected UV bright stars in globular clusters suggest that a high percentage of them manage to evolve from the…
Internal dynamical evolution can drive stellar systems into states of high central density. For many star clusters and galactic nuclei, the time scale on which this occurs is significantly less than the age of the universe. As a result,…
The radii of young (<100 Myr) star clusters correlate only weakly with their masses. This shallow relation has been used to argue that impulsive tidal perturbations, or `shocks', by passing giant molecular clouds (GMCs) preferentially…
Several lines of observational evidence suggest that white dwarfs receive small birth kicks due to anisotropic mass loss. If other stars possess extrasolar analogues to the Solar Oort cloud, the orbits of comets in such clouds will be…
Using recent results on the operation of turbulent dynamos, we show that a turbulent dynamo can amplify a large scale magnetic field in the envelopes of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We propose that a slow rotation of the AGB…
Through a suite of direct N-body simulations, we explore how the structural and kinematic evolution of a star cluster located at the center of a dwarf galaxy is affected by the shape of its host's dark matter density profile. The stronger…
The luminosity distribution of globular clusters shows a dramatic dependence on parent galaxy luminosity. Dwarf galaxies contain far more faint globulars than do luminous galaxies. This difference is significant at the 99.7% level. On the…
We present a framework that explains the commonly observed variation in light element abundances in globular clusters. If globular clusters form in the centres of dwarf galaxies, they will be pumped onto larger orbits as star formation…
This review discusses the physics of the formation of planetary nebulae around low mass WR stars, or [WR] stars. It especially focuses on the differences which can be expected due to the different character of the fast winds from these [WR]…
The population of compact binaries in dense stellar systems is affected strongly by frequent dynamical interactions between stars and their interplay with the stellar evolution. In this contribution, we consider these effects on binaries…
Characterization of the binary fractions in star clusters is of fundamental importance for many fields in astrophysics. Observations indicate that the majority of stars are found in binary systems, while most stars with masses greater than…
Upon their formation, dynamically cool (collapsing) star clusters will, within only a few million years, achieve stellar mass segregation for stars down to a few solar masses, simply because of gravitational two-body encounters. Since…
We point out that a high number density of stars in the core of a dense star cluster such as the central stellar cluster at the Galactic center, where many stars possess strong stellar winds, should result in collisions of those winds. The…
This review concentrates almost entirely on globular star clusters. It emphasises the increasing realisation that few of the traditional problems of star cluster astronomy can be studied in isolation: the influence of the Galaxy affects…
Massive clusters are now seen to form easily in interacting and merging galaxies, making these excellent environments for studying the properties of young clusters. New observations of the Antennae (NGC 4038/39) show that the most luminous…
Low mass white dwarfs are the remnants of disrupted red giant stars in binary millisecond pulsars and other exotic binary star systems. Some low mass white dwarfs cool rapidly, while others stay bright for millions of years due to stable…