Related papers: Hierarchical formation of Westerlund 1: a collapsi…
The current generation of millimeter interferometers have revealed a population of compact (r <~ 0.1 pc), massive (M ~ 100 Msun) gas cores that are the likely progenitors of massive stars. I review models for the evolution of these objects…
We summarize some of the results obtained from Herschel surveys of the nearby star forming regions and the Galactic plane. We show that in the nearby star forming regions the starless core spatial surface density distribution is very…
At the earliest evolutionary stages, massive star-forming regions are deeply embedded within their natal cores and not observable at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. Interferometric high-spatial resolution mm dust continuum…
We show that massive stars and stellar clusters are formed simultaneously, the global evolution of the forming cluster is what allows the central stars to become massive. We predict that massive star forming clumps, such as those observed…
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…
Stars form in dense, clustered environments, where feedback from newly formed stars eventually ejects the gas, terminating star formation and leaving behind one or more star clusters. Using the STARFORGE simulations, it is possible to…
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…
Observational results of young star-forming regions suggest that star clusters are completely mass segregated at birth. As a star cluster evolves dynamically, these initial conditions are gradually lost. For star clusters with single stars…
We report the discovery of a population of Wolf-Rayet stars in the young Galactic open cluster Westerlund 1. In an incomplete shallow spectroscopic survey, we find six nitrogen-rich (WN) and five carbon-rich (WC) WR stars. We also confirm…
Massive stars and their stellar winds are important for a number of feedback processes. The mass lost in the stellar wind can help determine the end-point of the star as a NS or a BH. However, the impact of mass-loss on the post-Main…
How starburst clusters form out of molecular clouds is still an open question. In this article, I highlight some of the key constraints in this regard, that one can get from the dynamical evolutionary properties of dense stellar systems. I…
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…
We investigate the physical processes which lead to the formation of massive stars. Using a numerical simulation of the formation of a stellar cluster from a turbulent molecular cloud, we evaluate the relevant contributions of fragmentation…
Using radiation-hydrodynamic cosmological simulations, we present a detailed ($0.1$ pc resolution), physically motivated portrait of a typical-mass dwarf galaxy before the epoch of reionization, resolving the formation and evolution of star…
In a series of three papers, we introduced a novel cluster formation model that describes the formation, growth, and disruption of star clusters in high-resolution cosmological simulations. We tested this model on a Milky Way-sized galaxy…
We investigate the possibility of very early formation of primordial star clusters from high-\sigma perturbations in cold dark matter dominated structure formation scenarios. For this we have developed a powerful 2-level hierarchical…
We present an analysis of the positions and ages of young star clusters in eight local galaxies to investigate the connection between the age difference and separation of cluster pairs. We find that star clusters do not form uniformly but…
An unsettled question concerning the formation and distribution of massive stars is whether they must be born in massive clusters and, if found in less dense environments, whether they must have migrated there. With the advent of wide-area…
I review the status of massive star formation theories: accretion from collapsing, massive, turbulent cores; competitive accretion; and stellar collisions. I conclude the observational and theoretical evidence favors the first of these…
The slow evolution of the M/L ratios, colors, and line strengths of cluster early-type galaxies to z=1 suggests that their stars were formed at very high redshift. At the same time, morphological studies of distant clusters indicate…