Related papers: Dynamical age differences among coeval star cluste…
Utilizing a series of N-body simulations, we argue that gravitationally bound stellar clusters of modest population evolve very differently from the picture presented by classical dynamical relaxation theory. The system's most massive stars…
Observations of the dust and gas around embedded stellar clusters reveal some of the processes involved in their formation and evolution. Large scale mass infall with rates dM/dt=4e-4 solar masses/year is found to be disrupted on small…
I assess the similarities and differences between the star-formation modes in quiescent spiral galaxies versus those in violent starburst regions, including galactic nuclei. As opposed to the quiescent star-formation mode, current empirical…
We recently used a large set of Monte Carlo simulations of globular clusters (GCs) to define new fully empirical parameters (named A5, P5, and S2.5) able to trace the internal dynamical evolution of dense stellar systems. These parameters…
(abridged) We use newly available empirical binary fractions for globular clusters to carry out a direct test of the binary evolution hypothesis, and of collisional channels that involve binary stars. More specifically, using the previously…
We consider models of gas flow in spiral galaxies in which the spiral structure has been excited by various possible mechanisms: a global steady density wave, self-gravity of the stellar disc and an external tidal interaction, as well as…
Blue Straggler stars are present in all the properly observed Globular Clusters. They mimic a rejuvenated stellar population and their existence has been a puzzle for many years. We performed an extensive spectroscopic survey of the surface…
Stellar populations contain the most important information about star clus- ter formation and evolution. Until several decades ago, star clusters were believed to be ideal laboratories for studies of simple stellar populations (SSPs).…
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…
We review recent work that investigates the formation of stellar clusters, ranging in scale from globular clusters through open clusters to the small scale aggregates of stars observed in T associations. In all cases, recent advances in…
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…
We created artificial color-magnitude diagrams of Monte Carlo dynamical models of globular clusters, and then used observational methods to determine the number of blue stragglers in those clusters. We compared these blue stragglers to…
Recent high-resolution observations of the central region of Galactic globular clusters have shown the presence of a large variety of exotic stellar objects whose formation and evolution may be strongly affected by dynamical interactions.…
Star clusters have hierarchical patterns in space and time, suggesting formation processes in the densest regions of a turbulent interstellar medium. Clusters also have hierarchical substructure when they are young, which makes them all…
Most young stars in nearby molecular clouds have estimated ages of 1-2 Myr, suggesting that star formation is rapid. However, small numbers of stars in these regions with inferred ages of >= 5-10 Myr have been cited to argue that star…
Mergers of gas-rich galaxies lead to gravitationally driven increases in gas pressure that can trigger intense bursts of star and cluster formation. Although star formation itself is clustered, most newborn stellar aggregates are unbound…
We investigate the stellar populations of galaxies in clusters at different dynamical stages, aiming to identify possible effects of the relaxation state of the cluster or subcluster on the star formation histories of its galaxies. We have…
The uncertainties in the modelling of some important inputs of stellar evolution must be taken into account for a correct interpretation, both of the HR diagrams of individual stars, and of the integrated colors, of stellar clusters. After…
We review progress in numerical simulations of star cluster formation. These simulations involve the bottom-up assembly of clusters through hierarchical mergers, which produces a fractal stellar distribution at young (~0.5 Myr) ages. The…
According to the classical view of globular clusters, stars inside globular clusters are evolved from the same giant molecular cloud. Then their stars' chemical compositions must be the same. But recent photometric and spectroscopic studies…