Related papers: Structural Parameters of Star Clusters: Stochastic…
(ABRIDGED) We assess the systematic uncertainties in (young) cluster age, mass, and - to a lesser extent - extinction and metallicity determinations, based on broad-band imaging observations with the Hubble Space Telescope. Our aim here is…
Structural parameters of model star clusters are measured in radial profiles built from number-density, mass-density and surface-brightness distributions, assuming as well different photometric conditions. Star clusters of different ages,…
We study the impact of photometric signal to noise on the accuracy of derived structural parameters of unresolved star clusters using MCMC model fitting techniques. Star cluster images were simulated as a smooth surface brightness…
The integrated spectro-photometric properties of star clusters are subject to large cluster-to-cluster variations. They are distributed in non trivial ways around the average properties predicted by standard population synthesis models.…
Context. Stochasticity and physical parameter degeneracy problems complicate the derivation of the parameters (age, mass, and extinction) of unresolved star clusters when using broad-band photometry. Aims. We develop a method to simulate…
Integrated spectrophotometric properties of stellar systems are intrinsically dispersed due to the stochastic nature of the small numbers of bright stars they contain. Among clusters, only the most massive ones can be used individually for…
With the advent of wide-field cosmological surveys, we are approaching samples of hundreds of thousands of galaxy clusters. While such large numbers will help reduce statistical uncertainties, the control of systematics in cluster masses…
Whether or not the initial star cluster mass function is established through a universal, galactocentric-distance-independent stochastic process, on the scales of individual galaxies, remains an unsolved problem. This debate has recently…
We developed a method for a fast modeling of broad-band UBVRI integrated magnitudes of unresolved star clusters and used it to derive their physical parameters (age, mass, and extinction). The method was applied on M33 galaxy cluster sample…
Surface brightness profiles for 23 M31 star clusters were measured using images from the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on the Hubble Space Telescope, and fit to two types of models to determine the clusters' structural properties. The…
The apparent age and mass of a stellar cluster can be strongly affected by stochastic sampling of the stellar initial mass function, when inferred from the integrated color of low mass clusters (less than ~10^4 solar masses). We use…
Context. When trying to derive the star cluster physical parameters of the M33 galaxy using broad-band unresolved ground-based photometry, previous studies mainly made use of simple stellar population models, shown in the recent years to be…
The majority of clusters in the Universe have masses well below 10^5 Msun. Hence their integrated fluxes and colors can be affected by the random presence of a few bright stars introduced by stochastic sampling of the stellar mass function.…
A large sample of young stellar groups is analysed aiming to investigate their clustering properties and dynamical evolution. A comparison of the Q statistical parameter, measured for the clusters, with the fractal dimension estimated for…
Massive star clusters are often used as tracers of galaxy formation and assembly. In order to do so, we must understand their properties at formation, and how those properties change with time, galactic environment, and galaxy assembly…
Star clusters are studied widely both as benchmarks for stellar evolution models and in their own right. Cluster age and mass distributions within galaxies are probes of star formation histories, and of cluster formation and disruption…
The large majority of extragalactic star cluster studies done to date have essentially used two or three-passband aperture photometry, combined with theoretical stellar population synthesis models, to obtain age estimates. The accuracy to…
We review many of the basic properties of star cluster systems, and focus in particular on how they relate to their host galaxy properties and ambient environment. The cluster mass and luminosity functions are well approximated by…
Using our Binary Population And Spectral Synthesis (BPASS) code we explore the effects on star-formation rate indicators of stochastically sampling the stellar initial mass function, adding a cluster mass dependent stellar upper-mass limit…
We present a study of the properties of the star-cluster systems around pseudo-bulges of late-type spiral galaxies using a sample of 11 galaxies with distances from 17 to 37 Mpc. Star clusters are identified from multiband HST ACS and WFPC2…