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Both simulations and observations indicate that stars form in filamentary, hierarchically clustered associations, most of which disperse into their galactic field once feedback destroys their parent clouds. However, during their early…
We examine the luminosity and dynamical mass estimates for young massive stellar clusters. For many young (<50 Myr) clusters, the luminosity and dynamical mass estimates differ by a significant amount. We explain this as being due to many…
The earliest evolution of star clusters involves a phase of co-existence of both newly-formed stars, and the gas from which they are forming. Observations of the gas in such regions provide a wealth of data that can inform the simulations…
We study analytically the disruptive effect of instantaneous gas removal from a cluster containing O stars. We setup an iterative calculation based on the stellar velocity distribution function to compute the fraction of stars that remain…
We investigate the dynamical evolution of star clusters during their formation, assuming that they are born from a turbulent starless clump of a given mass that is embedded within a parent self-gravitating molecular cloud characterized by a…
A dense-enough gas-accumulation evolves, over a few Myr of intensifying star formation, to an embedded cluster. If it contains a sufficient amount of mass, O stars form and explosively expel the remaining gas, whereas poorer clusters reduce…
We performed N-body simulations of both individual cluster evolution and subcluster coalescence, demonstrating that cluster evolution and its outcomes strongly depend on the cluster formation process through comparisons of different gas…
In spite of significant recent and ongoing research efforts, most of the early evolution and long-term fate of young massive star clusters remain clouded in uncertainties. Here, I discuss our understanding of the initial conditions of star…
The results of N-body simulations of the expulsion of residual gas from young globular clusters are presented. Globular clusters with a variety of initial masses, Galactocentric radii, concentration and initial mass function slope with star…
Most stars form as part of a star cluster. The most massive clusters in the Milky Way exist in two groups - loose and compact clusters - with significantly different sizes at the end of the star formation process. After their formation both…
Observations have revealed that most stars are born in clusters. These systems, containing from tens to thousands of stars and typically significant mass in gas in the youngest systems, evolve due to a combination of stellar and star-gas…
The fraction of star formation that results in bound star clusters is influenced by the density spectrum in which stars are formed and by the response of the stellar structure to gas expulsion. We analyse hydrodynamical simulations of…
We model the collision of molecular clouds to investigate the role of the initial properties on the remnants. Our clouds collide and evolve in a background medium that is approximately ten times less dense than the clouds, and we show that…
Violent relaxation -- the protocluster dynamical response to the expulsion of its leftover star forming gas -- is a short albeit crucial episode in the evolution of star clusters and star cluster systems. In this contribution, I survey how…
We use N-body simulations to survey the response of embedded star clusters to the dispersal of their parent molecular cloud. The final stages of the clusters can be divided into three classes: the cluster (i) is destroyed, (ii) has a loose…
Massive star clusters are often used as tracers of galaxy formation and assembly. In order to do so, we must understand their properties at formation, and how those properties change with time, galactic environment, and galaxy assembly…
Most stars form in star clusters and stellar associated. To understand the roles of star cluster environments in shaping the dynamical evolution of planetary systems, we carry out direct $N$-body simulations of four planetary systems models…
We have investigated the effect of initial mass segregation on the runaway merging of stars. The evolution of multi-mass, dense star clusters was followed by means of direct N-body simulations of up to 131.072 stars. All clusters started…
Direct N-body calculations are presented of the early evolution of exposed clusters to quantify the influence of gas expulsion on the time-varying surface brightness. By assuming that the embedded OB stars drive out most of the gas after a…
We highlight the impact of cluster-mass-dependent evolutionary rates upon the evolution of the cluster mass function during violent relaxation, that is, while clusters dynamically respond to the expulsion of their residual star-forming gas.…