Related papers: On the distribution of initial masses of stellar c…
In this paper, I review to what extent we can understand the photometric properties of star clusters, and of low-mass, unresolved galaxies, in terms of population synthesis models designed to describe `simple stellar populations' (SSPs),…
Determining the properties of old stellar populations (those with age >1 Gyr) has long involved the comparison of their integrated light, either in the form of photometry or spectroscopic indexes, with empirical or synthetic templates. Here…
Stellar population synthesis models are an essential tool with which galaxy physical parameters are extracted from observations. However they are built on assumptions designed for use in the local Universe, and not always appropriate to…
Star clusters are studied widely both as benchmarks for stellar evolution models and in their own right. Cluster age and mass distributions within galaxies are probes of star formation histories, and of cluster formation and disruption…
Integrated spectrophotometric properties of stellar systems are intrinsically dispersed due to the stochastic nature of the small numbers of bright stars they contain. Among clusters, only the most massive ones can be used individually for…
Low mass star formation regions are unlikely to fully populate their initial mass functions, leading to a deficit of massive stars. In binary stellar populations, the full range of binary separations and mass ratios will also be…
The integrated spectro-photometric properties of star clusters are subject to large cluster-to-cluster variations. They are distributed in non trivial ways around the average properties predicted by standard population synthesis models.…
Comparison with artificial galaxy models is essential for translating the incomplete and low signal-to-noise data we can obtain on astrophysical stellar populations to physical interpretations which describe their composition, physical…
Synthesis models predict the integrated properties of stellar populations. Several problems exist in this field, mostly related to the fact that integrated properties are distributed. To date, this aspect has been either ignored (as in…
We present a new set of stellar interior and synthesis models for predicting the integrated emission from stellar populations in star clusters and galaxies of arbitrary age and metallicity. This work differs from existing spectral synthesis…
The physical properties of galaxies are encoded within their spectral energy distribution and require comparison with models to be extracted. These models must contain a synthetic stellar population and, where infrared data is to be used,…
For a number of reasons, the properties of integrated stellar populations are distributed. Traditional synthesis models usually return the mean value of such distribution, and a perfect fitting to observational data is sought for to infer…
The apparent age and mass of a stellar cluster can be strongly affected by stochastic sampling of the stellar initial mass function, when inferred from the integrated color of low mass clusters (less than ~10^4 solar masses). We use…
For synthesising star clusters and whole galaxies, stellar populations need to be modelled by a set of four functions that define their initial distribution of stellar masses and of the orbital properties of their binary-star populations.…
The degree of influence that environment and mass have on the stellar populations of early-type galaxies is uncertain. In this paper we present the results of a spectroscopic analysis of the stellar populations of early-type galaxies aimed…
When a detailed model of a stellar population is unavailable, it is most common to assume that stellar masses are independently and identically distributed according to some distribution: the universal initial mass function (IMF). However,…
(abriged) Stellar clusters with the same general physical properties (e.g., total mass, age, and star-formation mode) may have very different stellar mass spectra due to the incomplete sampling of the underlying mass function; such…
The current state-of-the-art of population synthesis is reviewed. The field is currently undergoing major revisions with the recognition of several key processes as new critical ingredients. Stochastic effects can artificially enhance or…
I present a brief review of the stellar population properties of massive galaxies, focusing on early-type galaxies in particular, with emphasis on recent results from the ATLAS3D Survey. I discuss the occurrence of young stellar ages, cold…
Since the early 1970s, stellar population modelling has been one of the basic tools for understanding the physics of unresolved systems from observation of their integrated light. Models allow us to relate the integrated spectra (or…