Related papers: The moment of core collapse in star clusters with …
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.…
Studies of evolved massive stars indicate that they form in a clustered mode. During the earliest evolutionary stages, these regions are embedded within their natal cores. Here, we show high-spatial-resolution interferometric dust continuum…
The mass distributions of dense cores in star-forming regions are measured to have a shape similar to the initial mass function of stars. This has been generally interpreted to mean that the constituent cores will form individual stars or…
We describe results from large numbers of $N$-body simulations containing from $250$ to $1000$ stars each. The distribution of stellar masses is a power law, and the systems are isolated. While the collapse of the core exhibits the expected…
The evolution of star clusters is determined by several internal and external processes. Here we focus on two dominant internal effects, namely energy exchange between stars through close encounters (two-body relaxation) and mass-loss of…
The evolution of the global stellar mass function (MF) of star clusters is studied based on a large set of N-body simulations of clusters with a range of initial masses, initial concentrations, in circular or elliptical orbits in different…
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…
We present the results of realistic N-body modelling of massive star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds, aimed at investigating a dynamical origin for the radius-age trend observed in these systems. We find that stellar-mass black holes,…
We have run direct N-body simulations to investigate the impact of stellar evolution and dynamics on the structural properties of young massive (3x10^4 solar masses) star clusters (SCs) with different metallicities (Z=1, 0.1, 0.01 solar…
We investigate the evolutionary nexus between the morphology and internal kinematics of the central regions of collisional, rotating, multi-mass stellar systems, with special attention to the spatial characterisation of the process of mass…
We present a novel approach to the riddle of star cluster multiple populations. Stars form from molecular cores. But not all cores form stars. Following their initial compression, such 'failed' cores re-expand, rather than collapsing. We…
We present the results from realistic N-body modelling of massive star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. We have computed eight simulations with N ~ 10^5 particles; six of these were evolved for at least a Hubble time. The aim of this…
Two-body relaxation times of nuclear star clusters are short enough that gravitational encounters should substantially affect their structure in 10 Gyr or less. In nuclear star clusters without massive black holes, dynamical evolution is a…
The efficiency of star formation, defined as the ratio of the stellar to total (gas and stellar) mass, is observed to vary from a few percent in regions of dispersed star formation to about a third in cluster-forming cores. This difference…
Observations and theory both suggest that star clusters form sub-virial (cool) with highly sub-structured distributions. We perform a large ensemble of N-body simulations of moderate-sized (N=1000) cool, fractal clusters to investigate…
An overview of our current understanding of the formation and evolution of star clusters is given, with main emphasis on high-mass clusters. Clusters form deeply embedded within dense clouds of molecular gas. Left-over gas is cleared within…
[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…
The early evolution of dense stellar systems is governed by massive single star and binary evolution. Core collapse of dense massive star clusters can lead to the formation of very massive objects through stellar collisions ($M\geq$ 1000…
Several observational and theoretical studies suggest that the initial mass function (IMF) slope for massive stars in globular clusters (GCs) depends on the initial cloud density and metallicity, such that the IMF becomes increasingly…
We study the evolution of embedded clusters. The equations of motion of the stars in the cluster are solved by direct N-body integration while taking the effects of stellar evolution and the hydrodynamics of the natal gas content into…