Related papers: Challenges in Stellar Population Studies
We use detailed modeling of stellar populations of nearby galaxies to calculate population parameters. Our sample of galaxies includes most galaxies of the Local Group and several more distant giant galaxies. Available data are sufficient…
The formation of massive stars is an outstanding problem in stellar evolution. However, it is expected that they are (predominantly) born in heirarchical environments within massive young clusters, which in turn are located within larger…
Recent observations supported by theoretical models have lead to the view that giant and supergiant stars are over abundant, and/or a high metallicity component may be present, in the stellar populations at the centres of active galaxies.…
Populations of massive stars are directly reflective of the physics of stellar evolution. Counting subtypes of massive stars and ratios of massive stars in different evolutionary states have been used ubiquitously as diagnostics of age and…
Aims. The aim of this work is to study the dynamical effects of the Galaxy on binary star systems with physical and orbital charac- teristics similar to those of the population of known wide binary stars with exoplanets. As secondary goal…
The formation of stars is a key process in astrophysics. Detailed knowledge of the physical mechanisms that govern stellar birth is a prerequisite for understanding the formation and evolution of our galactic home, the Milky Way. A theory…
This review concentrates almost entirely on globular star clusters. It emphasises the increasing realisation that few of the traditional problems of star cluster astronomy can be studied in isolation: the influence of the Galaxy affects…
The exploitation of the power and the spatial resolution of HST and new generation ground-based telescopes allows to measure with good precision the individual stars of galaxies in and beyond the Local Group. This leads to very successful…
It is an obvious statement that all the galaxies we see today in and around our Local Group have been forming and evolving for a significant fraction of the age of the Universe. It is not a great leap of logic to further state that the…
The age and chemical composition of the stars in present-day galaxies carry important clues about their star formation processes. The latest generation of population synthesis models have allowed to derive age and stellar metallicity…
Uncertainties in stellar population models, both in terms of stellar evolution and stellar spectra, translate into uncertainties in our interpretation of stellar populations in galaxies, since stars are the source of most of the light we…
Star formation plays a central role in the evolution of galaxies and of the Universe as a whole. Studies of star-forming regions in the local universe have shown that star formation typically occurs in a clustered fashion. Building a…
This is the first paper presenting our long-term project aimed at studying the nature of bulges through the analysis of their stellar population gradients. We present deep spectroscopic observations along the minor axis and the data…
The deepest multi-wavelength surveys now provide measurements of star formation in galaxies out to z>1, and allow to reconstruct its history for large parts of the galaxy population. I review recent studies, which have consistently revealed…
Recent analysis of stellar populations in barred galaxies have focused on the spatial distribution of stellar population ages and metallicities. However, barred galaxies are complex objects where dynamical instabilities play a leading role…
We present a study of the stellar populations within the central regions of four nearby barred galaxies, and use a novel technique to constrain the duration of bar activity. We focus on the star formation 'desert', a region within each of…
Asymptotic giant branch stars are essential contributors to the near and mid-IR emission of intermediate age (0.1-1Gyr old) stellar populations. Detecting this light sets constraints on the star formation history in galaxies and,…
The use of roman numerals for stellar populations represents a classification approach to galaxy formation which is now well behind us. Nevertheless, the concept of a pristine generation of stars, followed by a protogalactic era, and…
Nearby galaxies are the end result of their cosmological evolution, which is predicted to be influenced by the growth of their host dark matter halos. This co-evolution potentially leaves signatures in present-day observed galaxy…
Galaxies represent the visible fabric of the Universe and there has been considerable progress recently in both observational and theoretical studies. The underlying goal is to understand the present-day diversity of galaxy forms, masses…