Related papers: From light to mass: accessing the initial and pres…
Scaling relations for globular clusters (GC) differ from scaling relations for pressure supported (elliptical) galaxies. We show that two-body relaxation is the dominant mechanism in shaping the bivariate dependence of density on mass and…
It is well established that the [alpha/Fe] ratios in elliptical galaxies increase with galaxy mass. This relation holds also for early-type dwarf galaxies, although it seems to steepen at low masses. The [alpha/Fe] vs. mass relation can be…
We report on the discovery of a surprising observed correlation between the slope of the low-mass stellar global mass function (GMF) of globular clusters (GCs) and their central concentration parameter c = log(r_t/r_c), i.e. the logarithmic…
We investigate the origin of the colour-magnitude relation (CMR) followed by early-type cluster galaxies by using a combination of cosmological N-body simulations of cluster of galaxies and a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation (Lagos,…
We investigate the globular cluster (GC) system scaling parameters as a function of galaxy mass, i.e. specific frequency (S_N), specific luminosity (S_L), specific mass (S_M), and specific number (^T) of GCs. We sample the entire range in…
During their evolution, star clusters undergo mass segregation, by which the orbits of the most massive stars shrink, while the lighter stars move outwards from the cluster centre. In this context, recent observations and dynamical…
We determine the mass functions (MFs) and the dynamical parameters of 15 nearby open clusters (OCs) using the unprecedented data set of the Gaia Early Data Release 3. We select the members of each cluster by combining the photometric…
We present the galaxy stellar mass function (MF) and its evolution in clusters from z~0.8 to the current epoch, based on the WIde-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS) (0.04<z<0.07), and the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS) (0.4<z…
The integrated galaxial initial mass function (IGIMF) is the relevant distribution function containing the information on the distribution of stellar remnants, the number of supernovae and the chemical enrichment history of a galaxy. Since…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a key parameter to study galaxy evolution. Here we measure the IMF mass normalization for a sample of 68 field galaxies in the redshift range 0.7 to 0.9 within the Extended Groth Strip. To do this…
We use the IllustrisTNG50 cosmological hydrodynamical simulation, complemented by a catalog of tagged globular clusters, to investigate the properties and build up of two extended luminous components: the intra-cluster light (ICL) and the…
In a series of three papers, we introduced a novel cluster formation model that describes the formation, growth, and disruption of star clusters in high-resolution cosmological simulations. We tested this model on a Milky Way-sized galaxy…
In this paper, basic observational properties of elliptical galaxies such as the integrated spectra, the chemical abundances and the enhancement of $\alpha$-elements inferred from broad-band colors and line strength indices $Mg_2$ and $< Fe…
Using 3.6$\mu$m images of 97 early-type galaxies, we develop and verify methodology to measure globular cluster populations from the S$^4$G survey images. We find that 1) the ratio, T$_{\rm N}$, of the number of clusters, N$_{\rm CL}$, to…
Recent observations of globular clusters in intermediate-age (2-4 Gyr old) merger remnants have provided the hitherto `missing link' between between young merger remnants and normal elliptical galaxies. The luminosity functions (LFs) of the…
We make use of a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation to investigate the origin of the observed correlation between [a/Fe] abundance ratios and stellar mass in elliptical galaxies. We implement a new galaxy-wide stellar initial mass…
In the first part of this article, we review observations of the mass and luminosity functions of young and old star cluster systems. We also review some of the physical processes that may determine the characteristic mass of globular…
The stellar initial mass function (sIMF) describes the distribution of stellar masses formed in a single star formation event in a molecular cloud clump. It is fundamental to astrophysics and cosmology, shaping our understanding of…
This contribution addresses the question of whether the initial cluster mass function (ICMF) has a fundamental limit (or truncation) at high masses. The shape of the ICMF at high masses can be studied using the most massive young (<10 Myr)…
We have determined stellar mass functions of 120 Milky Way globular clusters and massive LMC/SMC star clusters based on a comparison of archival Hubble Space Telescope photometry with a large grid of direct N-body simulations. We find a…