Related papers: Another Non-segregated Blue Straggler Population i…

A recent study shows, from an empirical deduction, that the number and the presence of the blue straggler stars (BSS) in an open cluster follow a function whose components are the ratio between age and the relaxation time, $\it f$, and a…

We present and discuss new BVI CCD photometry in the field of the globular cluster Arp~2, which is considered a member of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. The main goal of this investigation is to study of the statistics and spatial…

Blue straggler stars are exotic objects present in all stellar environments whose nature and formation channels are still partially unclear. They seem to be particularly abundant in open clusters (OCs), thus offering a unique chance to…

We have analyzed populations of blue straggler stars (BSSs) in 24 Magellanic Cloud star clusters using multi-passband Hubble Space Telescope images. We compiled a homogeneous BSS database, containing both traditional and evolved BSSs. We…

We have used the ``dynamical clock'' to measure the level of dynamical evolution reached by three Galactic globular clusters (namely, NGC 3201, NGC 6316 and NGC 6440). This is an empirical method that quantifies the level of central…

We present high-precision VI photometry of stars from the middle of the giant branch to about 5 magnitudes below the main-sequence turnoff in the globular cluster Palomar 13 based on images obtained with the Keck II 10m telescope. We…

We present a new, deep (V ~ 26) study of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 2419 based on B,V,I time-series CCD photometry over about 10 years and extending beyond the cluster published tidal radius. We have identified 101 variable stars of…

NGC 6388 and NGC 6441 are two massive Galactic bulge globular clusters which share many properties, including the presence of an extended horizontal branch (HB), quite unexpected because of their high metal content. In this paper we use…

We report on evidence of the inhomogeneity (multiplicity) of the stellar population in the Galactic globular cluster (GC) NGC 3201, which is irregularly reddened across its face. We carried out a more detailed and careful analysis of our…

Although the formation of blue straggler stars (BSSs) is routinely attributed to stellar interactions in binary systems, the relative importance of the direct collision and slow(er) stellar coalescence formation channels is still poorly…

Using a sample of 98 galaxy clusters recently imaged in the near infra-red with the ESO NTT, WIYN and WHT telescopes, supplemented with 33 clusters from the ESO archive, we measure how the stellar mass of the most massive galaxies in the…

We present an analysis of a new, large sample of field blue-straggler stars (BSSs) in the thick disk and halo system of the Galaxy, based on stellar spectra obtained during the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Sloan Extension for…

Spectroscopic observations of binary stars in globular clusters are essential to shed light on the poorly constrained period, eccentricity, and mass ratio distributions and to develop an understanding of the formation of peculiar stellar…

We report the results of an extensive VLT high-resolution imaging campaign of the central region of the giant globular cluster omega Centauri. More than 100,000 stars have been measured in the inner 9'x 9' region of the cluster. On the…

We discuss the observational properties of a special class of objects (the so-called "Blue Straggler Stars", BSSs) in the framework of using this stellar population as probe of the dynamical processes occurring in high-density stellar…

We report on the unprecedented Red Supergiant (RSG) population of a massive young cluster, located at the base of the Scutum-Crux Galactic arm. We identify candidate cluster RSGs based on {\it 2MASS} photometry and medium resolution…

We used high-spatial resolution images acquired with the WFC3 on board HST to probe the population of variable blue straggler stars in the central region of the poorly studied Galactic globular cluster NGC 6541. The time sampling of the…

Blue straggler stars are the most prominent bright objects in the colour-magnitude diagram of a star cluster that challenges the theory of stellar evolution. Star clusters are the closest counterparts of the theoretical concept of simple…

We used a proper combination of high-resolution HST observations and wide-field ground based data to derive the radial star density profile of 26 Galactic globular clusters from resolved star counts (which can be all freely downloaded…

The presence of young stellar populations in the Large Magellanic Cloud cluster NGC 1783 has caught significant attention, with suggestions ranging from it being a genuine secondary stellar generation to a population of blue straggler stars…