Related papers: An alternative method to study star cluster disrup…
We report on a study of young star cluster complexes in the spiral galaxy M51. Recent studies have confirmed that star clusters do not form in isolation, but instead tend to form in larger groupings or complexes. We use {\it HST} broad and…
We investigate the response of initially substructured, young, embedded star clusters to instantaneous gas expulsion of their natal gas. We introduce primordial substructure to the stars and the gas by simplistically modelling the star…
A model of protostar mass and luminosity evolution in clusters gives new estimates of cluster age, protostar birthrate, accretion rate and mean accretion time. The model assumes constant protostar birthrate, core-clump accretion, and…
We use young clusters and giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the galaxies M33 and M31 to constrain temporal and spatial scales in the star formation process. In M33, we compare the PHATTER catalogue of 1214 clusters with ages measured via…
We present new results on the evolution of the mass function of the globular cluster system of the Milky Way, taking the effect of residual gas expulsion into account. We assume that gas embedded star clusters start with a power-law mass…
We examine the effects of gas expulsion on initially sub-structured and out-of-equilibrium star clusters. We perform $N$-body simulations of the evolution of star clusters in a static background potential before removing that potential to…
We highlight the impact of cluster-mass-dependent evolutionary rates upon the evolution of the cluster mass function during violent relaxation, that is, while clusters dynamically respond to the expulsion of their residual star-forming gas.…
In the first part of this article, we review observations of the mass and luminosity functions of young and old star cluster systems. We also review some of the physical processes that may determine the characteristic mass of globular…
We present the age distributions for star clusters and individual stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) based on data from the Magellanic Clouds Photometric Survey by Zaritsky and collaborators. The age distribution of the SMC clusters…
Up to ages of ~100 Myr, massive clusters are still swamped in large amounts of gas and dust, with considerable and uneven levels of extinction. At the same time, large grains (ices?) produced by type II supernovae profoundly alter the…
We predict the survival time of initially bound star clusters in the solar neighbourhood taking into account: (1) stellar evolution, (2) tidal stripping, (3) shocking by spiral arms and (4) encounters with giant molecular clouds. We find…
The collective properties of star clusters are investigated using a simulation of the collision between two dwarf galaxies. The characteristic power law of the cluster mass function, N(M), with a logarithmic slope d\log N/d\log M ~ -1, is…
The majority of observed mass-to-light ratios of globular clusters are too low to be explained by `canonical' cluster models, in which dynamical effects are not accounted for. Moreover, these models do not reproduce a recently reported…
We present the first results of a new technique to detect, locate, and characterize young dissolving star clusters. Using HST/ACS archival images of the nearby galaxy IC2574, we performed stellar PSF photometry and selected the most massive…
Several recent studies have shown that the star cluster initial mass function (CIMF) can be well approximated by a power law, with indications for a steepening or truncation at high masses. This contribution considers the evolution of such…
The aim of this work is to test to what extent the star cluster population of a galaxy can be utilised to constrain or estimate the star formation history, with the Large Magellanic Cloud as our testbed. We follow two methods to extract…
The properties of 939 star clusters in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds were determined from ground-based CCD images in UBVR passbands. The areal coverage was extensive, corresponding to 11.0 sq-kpc in the LMC and 8.3 sq-kpc in the…
In compact and dense star-forming clouds a global star cluster wind could be suppressed. In this case the stellar feedback is unable to expel the leftover gas from the cluster. Young massive stars remain embedded into a dense residual gas…
Context. The dissolution rate of open clusters (OCs) and integration of their stars into the Milky Way's field population has been previously explored using their age distribution. With the advent of the Gaia mission, we have an exceptional…
We report on a multi-wavelength study of the relationship between young star clusters in the Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038/9) and their interstellar environment, with the goal of understanding the formation and feedback effects of star…