Related papers: Stellar Objects of Extragalactic Origin in the Gal…
The recent identification of one or two sub-parsec disks of young, massive stars orbiting the ~4e6 solar mass black hole Sgr A* has prompted an "in-situ" scenario for star formation in disks of gas formed from a cloud captured from the…
The center of our galaxy is home to a massive black hole, SgrA*, and a nuclear star cluster containing stellar populations of various ages. While the late type stars may be too old to have retained memory of their initial orbital…
We analyze the relations between the relative magnesium abundances, metallicities, and Galactic orbital elements for halo stars. We show that the relative magnesium abundances in protodisk halo stars are virtually independent of metallicity…
The Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy is well known for its very high globular cluster specific frequency, SN=26. Furthermore, while the field star metallicity distribution peaks at [Fe/H]=-1, four of the five GCs have [Fe/H]<-2. Only about 5…
The low [alpha/Fe] ratio in the metal-poor ([Fe/H]= -1.50) common proper motion pair HD 134439 and HD 134440 has been variously attributed to chemical evolution in an extragalactic environment with an irregular star formation history,…
Exo-planets are preferentially found around high metallicity main sequence stars. We aim at investigating whether evolved stars share this property, and what this tells about planet formation. Statistical tools and the basic concepts of…
We use numerical simulations to investigate the orbital characteristics of tidal debris from satellites whose orbits are dragged into the plane of galactic disks by dynamical friction before disruption. We find that these satellites may…
A galaxy's mean metallicity is usually closely correlated with its luminosity and mass. Consequently the most metal-poor galaxies in the local universe are dwarf galaxies. Blue compact dwarfs and tidal dwarfs tend to deviate from the…
High-mass stars are commonly found in stellar clusters promoting the idea that their formation occurs due to the physical processes linked with a young stellar cluster. It has recently been reported that isolated high-mass stars are present…
A recent all-object spectroscopic survey centred on the Fornax cluster of galaxies, has discovered a population of sub-luminous and extremely compact members, called ``ultra-compact dwarf'' (UCD) galaxies. In order to clarify the origin of…
We simulate the result of orbital decay for a dwarf satellite galaxy in a disk galaxy potential. The peeling-off of the satellite by the strong tidal field within the disk of the host galaxy quickly reduces the satellite's mass, and…
We suggest that the majority of the "young", so--called "second parameter" globular clusters (SPGCs) have originated in the outer Galactic halo due to a process other than a tidal disruption of the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. Basic…
Globular cluster systems exhibit a bewildering variety of characteristics. No single scenario appears to be able to account for the wide range of specific globular cluster frequencies that are observed in galaxies of various types. The…
We present an end-to-end description of the formation process of globular clusters (GCs) which combines a treatment for their formation and dynamical evolution within galaxy haloes with a state-of-the-art semi-analytic simulation of galaxy…
Updated data of the 153 Galactic globular clusters are used to readdress fundamental parameters of the Milky Way. We build a reduced sample, decontaminated of the clusters younger than 10Gyr, those with retrograde orbits and/or evidence of…
The existence of globular clusters (GCs) in a few satellite galaxies, and their absence in majority of dwarf galaxies, present a challenge for models attempting to understand the origins of GCs. In addition to GC presence appearing…
Many Galactic globular clusters (GCs) originated in diverse host galaxies before being subsequently incorporated into the Milky Way through hierarchical galaxy assembly. Identifying their origins is crucial for revealing galaxy properties…
The census of heavy elements (metals) produced by all stars through cosmic times up to present-day is limited to ~50%; of these only half are still found within their parent galaxy. The majority of metals is expelled from galaxies into the…
Fully cosmological, high resolution N-Body + SPH simulations are used to investigate the chemical abundance trends of stars in simulated stellar halos as a function of their origin. These simulations employ a physically motivated supernova…
I discuss the chemical evolution of star clusters, with emphasis on old globular clusters, in relation to their formation histories. Globular clusters clearly formed in a complex fashion, under markedly different conditions from any younger…