Related papers: High angular resolution integral-field spectroscop…
This is the second of three papers that search for the predicted stellar cusp around the Milky Way's central black hole, Sagittarius A*, with new data and methods. We aim to infer the distribution of the faintest stellar population…
We obtained Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 imaging of a sample of ten of the nearest and brightest nuclear clusters residing in late-type spiral galaxies, in seven bands that span the near-ultraviolet to the near-infrared.…
The distribution of late-type (old) stars in the inner parsec of the Milky Way is very different than expected for a relaxed population around a supermassive black hole. Instead of a density cusp, there is a 0.5 pc core. This article…
We analyze three sets of infrared star counts in the inner ~0.5 pc of the Galactic Center. We perform statistical tests on the star counts and model in detail the extinction field and the effects of dwarf-giant collisions on the luminosity…
The nuclear star cluster of the Milky Way is a unique target in the Universe. Contrary to extragalactic nuclear star clusters, using current technology it can be resolved into tens of thousands of individual stars. This allows us to study…
In the last decade star clusters have been found in the centers of spiral galaxies across all Hubble types. We here present a spectroscopic study of the exceptionally bright (10^6 - 10^8 Lsun) but compact (Re ~ 5 pc) nuclear star clusters…
We present an analysis of the central cusp slopes and core parameters of early-type galaxies using a large database of surface brightness profiles obtained from Hubble Space Telescope observations. We examine the relation between the…
The Milky Way nuclear star cluster (MWNSC) is a crucial laboratory for studying the galactic nuclei of other galaxies, but its properties have not been determined unambiguously until now. Aims. We aim to study the size and spatial structure…
We have used the NASA Infra-Red Telescope Facility (IRTF) to observe the nuclear stellar cluster in the nearby, face-on, giant Scd spiral IC 342. From high resolution (R = 21500) spectra at the 12CO (2-0) bandhead at 2.3 micron we derive a…
The relaxed distribution of stars around a massive black hole is known to follow a cusp profile $\rho(r)\propto r^{-\alpha}$ with characteristic slope $\alpha=7/4$. This follows from energy conservation and a scattering rate as given by two…
We present photometric and morphological analyses of nuclear star clusters (NSCs) -- very dense, massive star clusters present in the central regions of most galaxies -- in a sample of 33 massive disk galaxies within 20 Mpc, part of the…
(abridged) We provide Ks photometry for roughly 39,000 stars and H-band photometry for about 11,000 stars within a field of about 40"x40", centred on Sgr A*. In addition, we provide Ks photometry of about 3,000 stars in a very deep central…
We examine the nuclear morphology, kinematics, and stellar populations in nearby S0 galaxy NGC 404 using a combination of adaptive optics assisted near-IR integral-field spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy, and HST imaging. These…
We summarize some recent results from our observational campaign to study the central regions of spiral galaxies of late Hubble type (Scd - Sm). These disk-dominated, bulgeless galaxies have an apparently uneventful merger history. The…
After being destroyed by a binary supermassive black hole, a stellar density cusp can regrow at the center of a galaxy via energy exchange between stars moving in the gravitational field of the single, coalesced hole. We illustrate this…
We present a statistical analysis of a sample of 20 strong lensing clusters drawn from the Local Cluster Substructure Survey (LoCuSS), based on high resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the cluster cores and follow-up spectroscopic…
This paper has been withdrawn temporarily by the authors. As stars close to the galactic centre have short orbital periods it has been possible to trace large fractions of their orbits in the recent years. Previously the data of the orbit…
We present spatially resolved imaging and integral field spectroscopy data for 450 cool giant stars within 1\,pc from Sgr\,A*. We use the prominent CO bandheads to derive effective temperatures of individual giants. Additionally we present…
Nuclear star clusters are among the densest stellar systems known and are common in both early- and late-type galaxies. They exhibit scaling relations with their host galaxy which may be related to those of supermassive black holes. These…
We begin by presenting the analysis of a set of deep B- and V-band images of the central density cusp of the globular cluster M30 (NGC 7099), taken with the Faint Object Camera aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. These images are the first…