Related papers: Constraining the evolution of red supergiants with…
In the past few years, several clusters containing large numbers of red supergiants have been discovered. These clusters are amongst the most massive young clusters known in the Milky Way, with stellar masses reaching a few…
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.…
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…
Red supergiants (RSGs) represent a late evolutionary stage of massive stars. Recent observations reveal that the observed luminosity range of RSGs in young open clusters is wider than expected from single star evolution models. Binary…
Their ubiquity and extreme densities make star clusters probes of prime importance of galaxy evolution. Old globular clusters keep imprints of the physical conditions of their assembly in the early Universe, and younger stellar objects,…
We report on recent progress in the modelling of the near-IR spectra of young stellar populations, i.e. populations in which red supergiants (RSGs) are dominant. First, we discuss the determination of fundamental parameters of RSGs using…
The uncertainties in the modelling of some important inputs of stellar evolution must be taken into account for a correct interpretation, both of the HR diagrams of individual stars, and of the integrated colors, of stellar clusters. After…
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…
Massive clusters in our Galaxy are an ideal testbed to investigate the properties and evolution of high mass stars. They provide statistically significant samples of massive stars of uniform ages. To accurately determine the intrinsic…
We examine the influence of stochastic effects on the integrated near-infrared light of star clusters with ages between 7.5<log(t)<9.25. To do this, we use stellar evolution models and a Monte Carlo technique to simulate the effects of…
We infer the ages of three young stellar clusters, NGC 2004, NGC 7419, and NGC 2100, using Stellar Ages, a statistical algorithm designed to infer stellar population properties from color magnitude diagrams. Recent studies have revealed…
It is currently impossible to determine the abundances and ages of the stellar populations of distant, dense stellar systems star by star. Therefore, methods to analyze the composite light of stellar systems are required. I review the…
The optical integrated spectra of three LMC young stellar clusters (NGC 1984, NGC 1994 and NGC 2011) exhibit concave continua and prominent molecular bands which deviate significantly from the predictions of single stellar population (SSP)…
The evolution of AGB stars is notoriously complex. The confrontation of AGB population models with observed stellar populations is a useful alternative to the detailed study of individual stars in efforts to converge towards a reliable…
Star clusters are found in all sorts of environments and their formation and evolution is inextricably linked to the star formation process. Their eventual destruction can result from a number of factors at different times, but the process…
We report the discovery of an extraordinarily massive young cluster of stars in the Galaxy, having an inferred total initial cluster mass comparable to the most massive young clusters in the Galaxy. Using {\it IRMOS}, {\it 2MASS}, and {\it…
High-mass stars are major players in the chemical and dynamical evolution of galaxies. Open clusters and associations represent the natural laboratories to study their evolution. In this review, I will present a personal selection of…
Red giant stars, both in the field and in globular clusters, present abundance anomalies that can not be explained by standard stellar evolution models. Some of these peculiarities clearly point towards the existence of extra-mixing…
We use the Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) models to test the recent suggestion that red supergiants can provide an accurate age estimate of a co-eval stellar population that is unaffected by interacting binary stars. Ages…
Massive Star Clusters (SCs) have been proposed as additional contributors to Galactic Cosmic rays (CRs), to overcome the limitations of supernova remnants (SNRs) to reach the highest energy end of the CR spectrum. Thanks to fast mass losses…