Related papers: Stochasticity, a variable stellar upper-mass limit…
We present a study of the consequences of an initial mass function that is stochastically sampled on the main emission lines used for gas-phase metallicity estimates in extra-galactic sources. We use the stochastic stellar population code…
The stellar initial mas function (IMF) has been described as being invariant, bottom heavy or top-heavy in extremely dense star burst conditions. To provide usable observable diagnostic we calculate redshift dependent spectral energy…
The universality or non-universality of the initial mass function (IMF) has significant implications for determining star formation rates and star formation histories from photometric properties of stellar populations. We reexamine whether…
Some theories of star formation suggest massive stars may only form in clustered environments, which would create a deficit of massive stars in low density environments. Observationally, Massey (2002) finds such a deficit in samples of the…
Several observational and theoretical indications suggest that the initial mass function (IMF) becomes increasingly top-heavy (i.e., overabundant in high-mass stars with mass $m > 1M_{\odot}$) with decreasing metallicity and increasing gas…
Recent studies based on the integrated light of distant galaxies suggest that the initial mass function (IMF) might not be universal. Variations of the IMF with galaxy type and/or formation time may have important consequences for our…
The degree of mass loss, i.e. the fraction of stars lost by globular clusters, and specifically by their different populations, is still poorly understood. Many scenarios of the formation of multiple stellar populations, especially the ones…
Background: low-mass stars are the dominant product of the star formation process, and they trace star formation over the full range of environments, from isolated globules to clusters in the central molecular zone. In the past two decades,…
The combination of a finite time-scale for star formation, rapid early stellar evolution and rapid stellar-dynamical processes imply that the stellar IMF cannot be inferred for any star cluster independently of its age (the Cluster IMF…
We measure the velocity dispersions of six, galactic globular clusters using spatially integrated spectra, to test for the effects of internal dynamical evolution in the stellar mass-to-light ratios, Upsilon_*, of star clusters. In…
I analyze the stochastic effects introduced by the sampling of the stellar initial mass function (SIMF) in the derivation of the individual masses and the cluster mass function (CMF) from broad-band visible-NIR unresolved photometry. The…
The interplay between the ISM and the massive stars formed in clusters and, more generally, in recent events of star formation is reviewed via the global effects each has on the other. The pre-existing environment affects the properties of…
We present a suite of galaxy formation simulations that directly model star cluster formation and disruption. Starting from a model previously developed by our group, here we introduce several improvements to the prescriptions for cluster…
We apply probabilistic generative modelling of colour-magnitude diagrams to six young Galactic open star clusters and determine their mass functions, binary mass-ratio distributions, and the frequencies of binary stars. We find that younger…
We investigate the relation between the star formation rate (SFR) and the stellar mass (M), i.e. the Main Sequence (MS) relation of star-forming galaxies, at 1.3<=z<6 in the first four HST Frontier Fields, based on rest-frame UV…
Stars form predominantly in groups usually denoted as clusters or associations. The observed stellar groups display a broad spectrum of masses, sizes and other properties, so it is often assumed that there is no underlying structure in this…
The physical properties of galaxies are encoded within their spectral energy distribution and require comparison with models to be extracted. These models must contain a synthetic stellar population and, where infrared data is to be used,…
The observed masses of the most massive stars do not surpass about 150Msun. This may either be a fundamental upper mass limit which is defined by the physics of massive stars and/or their formation, or it may simply reflect the increasing…
We present the results of a study aimed at investigating the effects of dynamical evolution on the spatial distribution and mixing of primordial binary stars in multiple-population globular clusters. Multiple stellar population formation…
From a study of the integrated light properties of 200 globular clusters (GCs) in M31, Strader et al. found that the mass-to-light ratios are lower than what is expected from simple stellar population (SSP) models with a `canonical' stellar…