Related papers: Spatial and kinematic segregation in star cluster …
Open and globular star clusters have served as benchmarks for the study of stellar evolution due to their supposed nature as simple stellar populations of the same age and metallicity. After a brief review of some of the pioneering work…
Most formation scenarios of globular clusters assume a molecular cloud as the progenitor of the stellar system. However, it is still unclear, how this cloud is transformed into a star cluster, i.e. how the destructive processes related to…
In the most prominent current scenario of galaxy formation, galaxies form hierarchically through the merger of smaller systems. Such mergers could leave behind dynamical signatures which may linger long after the event. In particular, the…
Recent surveys of star forming regions have shown that most stars, and probably all massive stars, are born in dense stellar clusters. The mechanism by which a molecular cloud fragments to form several hundred to thousands of individual…
Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) are commonly observed in the centres of most galactic nuclei, including our own Milky Way. While their study can reveal important information about the build-up of the innermost regions of galaxies, the physical…
We review the current knowledge about nuclear star clusters (NSCs), the spectacularly dense and massive assemblies of stars found at the centers of most galaxies. Recent observational and theoretical work suggest that many NSC properties,…
Young star clusters like R136 in the Large Magellanic Cloud and NGC 3603, Westerlund 1, and 2 in the Milky Way are dynamically more evolved than expected based on their current relaxation times. In particular, the combination of a high…
We propose a self-consistent model for globular cluster formation in, but not limited to, our Galaxy, based on the merger model of Mathews and Schramm (1993). Stars and star clusters form in bursts at the merging interfaces as protogalactic…
We use high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging data of dwarf galaxies in the Local Volume ($\lesssim 11$ Mpc) to parameterise 19 newly discovered nuclear star clusters (NSCs). Most of the clusters have stellar masses of…
Galaxy interactions and mergers play a significant, but still debated and poorly understood role in the star formation history of galaxies. Numerical and theoretical models cannot yet explain the main properties of merger-induced…
Young clusters are observed to form in a variety of interacting galaxies and violent starbursts, a substantial number resembling the progenitors of the well-studied globular clusters in mass and size. By studying young clusters in merger…
I discuss the chemical evolution of star clusters, with emphasis on old globular clusters, in relation to their formation histories. Globular clusters clearly formed in a complex fashion, under markedly different conditions from any younger…
Galaxy interactions are known to trigger starbursts. Young massive star clusters formed in interacting galaxies and mergers may become young globular clusters. The ages of these clusters can provide clues about the timing of…
We have determined the amount of stellar mass segregation in over 50 globular clusters and ultra-faint dwarf galaxy candidates based on deep HST and ground-based photometry. We find that the amount of mass segregation in globular clusters…
Their ubiquity and extreme densities make star clusters probes of prime importance of galaxy evolution. Old globular clusters keep imprints of the physical conditions of their assembly in the early Universe, and younger stellar objects,…
Recent observations of galaxy mergers inside galaxy cluster environments report high star formation rates in the ejected tidal tails, which point towards currently developing tidal dwarf galaxies. We test whether these dwarf objects could…
After the stars of a new, embedded star cluster have formed they blow the remaining gas out of the cluster. Especially winds of massive stars and definitely the on-set of the first supernovae can remove the residual gas from a cluster. This…
We use numerical simulations to examine the structure of merger remnants resulting from collisions of gas-rich spiral galaxies. When the gas fraction of the progenitors is small, the remnants structurally and kinematically resemble…
Although the basic physics of star formation is classical, numerical simulations have yielded essential insights into how stars form. They show that star formation is a highly nonuniform runaway process characterized by the emergence of…
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…