Related papers: The Stellar Kinematics of Extragalactic Bulges
With the new discoveries enabled thanks to the recent space missions, stellar physics is going through a revolution. However, these discoveries opened the door to many new questions that require more observations. The European Space…
We present preliminary results from an ongoing study of the bulges of S0 galaxies. We show that in a subsample of 14 barred S0 galaxies, fully half the photometrically defined bulges show kinematic signatures of "pseudobulges" -- that is,…
We review the observational evidences concerning the three-dimensional structure of the Galactic bulge. Although the inner few kpc of our Galaxy are normally referred to as {\it the bulge}, all the observations demonstrate that this region…
An increasing number of both photometric and spectroscopic observations over the last years have shown the existence of distinct sub-populations in many Galactic globular clusters and shattered the paradigm of globulars hosting single,…
It is currently impossible to determine the abundances and ages of the stellar populations of distant, dense stellar systems star by star. Therefore, methods to analyze the composite light of stellar systems are required. I review the…
We show that the kinematics of the shells seen around some elliptical galaxies provide a new, independent means for measuring the gravitational potentials of elliptical galaxies out to large radii. A numerical simulation of a set of shells…
The secular evolution process which slowly transforms the morphology of a given galaxy over its lifetime through mostly internal dynamical mechanisms could naturally account for most of the observed properties of physical galaxies (Zhang…
Observations reveal that mature spiral galaxies consist of stars, gases and plasma approximately distributed in a thin disk of circular shape, usually with a central bulge. The rotation velocities quickly increase from the galactic center…
The chemo-dynamics of galaxy halos beyond the Local Group may now be mapped out through the use of globular clusters and planetary nebulae as bright tracer objects, along with deep multi-slit spectroscopy of the integrated stellar light. We…
Recently the search for the oldest stars have started to focus on the Bulge region. The Galactic bulge hosts extremely old stars, with ages compatible with the ages of the oldest halo stars. The data coming from these recent observations…
In this review I will describe a number of recent advances in extragalactic astronomy. First of all I will describe our current best estimates of the star formation history of the Universe. Then I will describe measurements of local…
This review summarizes some aspects of the central kiloparsec scale structure of galaxies, and in particular spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies and merger remnants. The focus is on results from optical and near-IR imaging and…
We have obtained HST_NICMOS images for 72 nearby spiral galaxy bulges in the H-band. These data show that galaxies with regular bulges have steeper nuclear cusps than galaxies with irregular bulges. We also show that galaxies with regular…
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,…
Observations show that early-type galaxies contain a considerable amount of interstellar dust, most of which is believed to exist as a diffusely distributed component. We construct a four-parameter elliptical galaxy model in order to…
What is the origin of the numerous population of diffuse elliptical galaxies (dE) in clusters? These galaxies formed their stars several billion years ago and lost their gas. Though the stellar winds resulting from star formation and the…
We consider the key problems related to measuring the mass of stellar disks and dark halos in galaxies and to explaining the observed properties of disks formed in massive dark halos.
This paper addresses the questions of what we have learned about how and when dense star clusters form, and what studies of star clusters have revealed about galaxy formation and evolution. One important observation is that globular…
Essentially everything of astronomical interest is either part of a galaxy, or from a galaxy, or otherwise relevant to the origin or evolution of galaxies. Diverse examples are that the isotropic composition of meteorites provides clues to…
The connection between AGB evolution of stellar populations and infrared vs. ultraviolet properties of the parent galaxies is reviewed relying on the updated lookout provided by population-synthesis theory. In particular, planetary-nebula…