Related papers: Dynamical evolution of stellar clusters
Using our recently improved understanding of star cluster physics, we are now within reach of answering a number of fundamental questions in contemporary astrophysics. Star cluster physics has immediate bearing on questions ranging from the…
More than 50 years have elapsed since the first studies of star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. The wealth of data accumulated since then has not only revealed a large cluster system, but also a diversified one, filling loci in the age,…
The process that leads to the formation and early evolution of low-mass stars is in a broad sense well understood theoretically and carefully traced observationally. The largest uncertainties in this framework reside in the poorly known…
The process of chemical self-enrichment in stellar systems can be affected by the total mass of the system and the conditions of the large-scale environment. Globular clusters are a special dark matter-free case of chemical evolution, in…
Runaway stellar collisions in dense star clusters are invoked to explain the presence of very massive stars or blue stragglers in the center of those systems. This process has also been explored for the first star clusters in the Universe…
As a stellar group forms within its parent molecular cloud, new members first appear in the deep interior. These overcrowded stars continually diffuse outward to the cloud boundary, and even beyond. Observations have so far documented only…
We investigate the influence of the external tidal field of a dark matter halo on the dynamical evolution of star clusters using direct N-body simulations, where we assume that the halo is described by a Navarro, Frenk & White mass profile…
The study of the internal structure of star clusters provides important clues concerning their formation mechanism and dynamical evolution. There are both observational and numerical evidences indicating that open clusters evolve from an…
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…
Fragmentation and fission of giant molecular clouds occasionally results in a pair of gravitationally bound star clusters that orbit their mutual centre of mass for some time, under the influence of internal and external perturbations. We…
I present recent observations and analyses of star cluster formation in a wide variety of environments -- from young star clusters and super star clusters in normal actively star-forming spirals and irregulars to starbursting dwarfs and…
Binarity among stellar clusters in galaxy is such a reality which has been realized for a long time, but still hides several questions and problems to be solved. Some of binary star clusters are formed by close encounter, but the others are…
We analyze the physical properties of stellar clusters that are detected in massive star-forming regions in the MYStIX project--a comparative, multiwavelength study of young stellar clusters within 3.6 kpc that contain at least one O-type…
Globular clusters are among the most congested stellar systems in the Universe. Internal dynamical evolution drives them toward states of high central density, while simultaneously concentrating the most massive stars and binary systems in…
Recent observations show that small, young, stellar groupings of ~10 to 40 members tend of have a centrally-located most massive member, reminiscent of mass segregation seen in large clustered systems. Here, we analyze hydrodynamic…
We present N-body simulations of star clusters that initially evolve within a strong compressive tidal field and then transition into extensive tidal fields of varying strengths. While subject to compressive tides, clusters can undergo…
Star cluster formation and assembly occurs inside filamentary and turbulent molecular clouds, which imprints both spatial and kinematic substructure on the young cluster. In this paper, we quantify the amount and evolution of this…
Stars form with a complex and highly structured distribution. For a smooth star cluster to form from these initial conditions, the star cluster must erase this substructure. We study how substructure is removed using N-body simulations that…
[abridged] We present a unified picture for the evolution of star clusters on the two-body relaxation timescale. We use direct N-body simulations of star clusters in a galactic tidal field starting from different multi-mass King models, up…
Binary stars are pairs of stars that are gravitationally bound, providing in some cases accurate measurements of their masses and radii. As such, they serve as excellent testbeds for the theory of stellar structure and evolution. Moreover,…