Related papers: Nuclear Star Clusters
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…
Nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are massive star clusters found in the innermost region of most galaxies. While recent studies suggest that low-mass NSCs in dwarf galaxies form largely out of the merger of globular clusters and NSCs in massive…
Beyond all reasonable doubt, black holes are commonly found in the nuclei of most normal galaxies. In recent years, dynamical measurements of hole masses have transformed the study of their functioning and evolution. In particular, relating…
The long-term evolution of stellar orbits bound to a massive centre is studied in order to understand the cores of star clusters in central regions of galaxies. Stellar trajectories undergo tiny perturbation, the origin of which is twofold:…
Massive star formation in the central regions of spiral galaxies plays an important role in the dynamical and secular evolution of their hosts. Here, we summarise a number of recent investigations of the star formation history and the…
Clues to the formation and evolution of Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) lie in their stellar populations. However, these structures are often very faint compared to their host galaxy, and spectroscopic analysis of NSCs is hampered by…
To understand the nuclear stellar populations and star formation histories of the nuclei of spiral galaxies, we have obtained K-band nuclear spectra for 41 galaxies and H-band spectra for 20 galaxies in the ISO Atlas of Bright Spiral…
Galaxy mergers are common processes in the Universe. As a large fraction of galaxies hosts at their centres a central supermassive black hole (SMBH), mergers can lead to the formation of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB). The…
Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) are commonly found in galaxy centers, but their dominant formation mechanisms remain elusive. We perform a consistent analysis of stellar populations of 97 nearby NSCs, based on VLT spectroscopic data. The…
Nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are dense stellar environments located in the center of most galaxies. NSCs are thought to form through two primary methods; through the inspiral of globular clusters (GCs) to the galactic center due to…
The majority of spiral and elliptical galaxies in the Universe host very dense and compact stellar systems at their centres known as nuclear star clusters (NSCs). In this work we study the stellar populations and star formation histories…
The Milky Way nuclear star cluster (MW NSC) has been used as a template to understand the origin and evolution of galactic nuclei and the interaction of nuclear star clusters with supermassive black holes. It is the only nuclear star…
Systematic studies have revealed hundreds of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) in the nearby Universe. With half-light radii $r_h$ of approximately 10-100 parsecs and stellar masses $M_*$ $\approx$ $10^6-10^8$ solar masses, UCDs are among…
We have discovered new extended star clusters (ESCs) in a nearby dIrr galaxy NGC 6822. These clusters are the nearest sample of ESCs available to date. The key characteristic of ESCs is their large size compared to typical globular clusters…
The formation of massive stellar clusters is intricately linked to star formation on local and global scales. All actively star forming galaxies are forming clusters, and the local initial conditions likely determine whether bound massive…
Star clusters that form in nuclear rings appear to be at slightly larger radii than the gas. We argue that the star clusters move out from the gas in which they are formed because of satellite-disk tidal interactions. In calculating the…
Low-mass cluster galaxies are the most common galaxy type in the universe and are at a cornerstone of our understanding of galaxy formation, cluster luminosity functions, dark matter and the formation of large scale structure. I describe in…
Gravitational torques among objects orbiting a supermassive black hole drive the rapid reorientation of orbital planes in nuclear star clusters (NSCs), a process known as vector resonant relaxation. In this Letter, we determine the…
Imaging surveys with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have shown that roughly 50-80% of low- and intermediate-luminosity galaxies contain a compact stellar nucleus at their center, regardless of host galaxy morphological type. We combine…
Massive black holes are key inhabitants of the nuclei of galaxies. Moreover, their astrophysical relevance has gained significant traction in recent years, thanks especially to the amazing results that are being (or will be) delivered by…