Related papers: From Young Massive Clusters to Old Globular Cluste…
Deep, near-infrared JHK-maps were observed for 10 nearby, grand-design, spiral galaxies using HAWK-I/VLT to study the distribution of young stellar clusters in them and thereby determine whether strong spiral perturbations can influence…
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) may provide the missing link to understanding the growth of supermassive black holes in the early Universe. Some formation scenarios predict that IMBHs could have formed by runaway collisions in…
Star clusters can interact and merge in galactic discs, halos, or centers. We present direct N-body simulations of binary mergers of star clusters with $M_{\star} = 2.7 \times 10^4 \: \mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ each, using the N-body code BIFROST…
The study of stellar-remnant black holes (BH) in dense stellar clusters is now in the spotlight, especially due to their intrinsic ability to form binary black holes (BBH) through dynamical encounters, that potentially coalesce via…
I review the long-term survival chances of young massive star clusters (YMCs), hallmarks of intense starburst episodes often associated with violent galaxy interactions. In particular, I address the key question as to whether at least some…
Theoretical modeling of massive stars predicts a gap in the black hole (BH) mass function above $\sim 40-50\,M_{\odot}$ for BHs formed through single star evolution, arising from (pulsational) pair-instability supernovae. However, in dense…
Gravitational waves (GWs) offer an unprecedented opportunity to survey the sky and detect mergers of compact objects. While intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) have not been detected beyond any reasonable doubt with either dynamical or…
Studies of the Galactic Centre suggest that in-situ star formation may have given rise to the observed stellar population near the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). Direct evidence for a recent starburst is provided by the currently…
Nuclear star clusters, which fragment into metal-poor stars in situ at the centers of protogalaxies, provide ideal environments for the formation of intermediate-mass black holes with masses $10^3-10^6M_\odot$. We utilize the semianalytic…
To explain the observed anomalies in stellar populations within globular clusters, many globular cluster formation theories require two independent episodes of star formation. A fundamental prediction of these models is that the clusters…
We present the results of a recent near-infrared survey of the fields surrounding a large sample of intermediate-mass pre-main-sequence (Herbig Ae/Be) stars. While late-type Be and Ae stars are never associated with conspicuous groups of…
The inspiral of a turbulent molecular cloud in the Galactic Centre may result in the formation of a small, dense and moderately eccentric gas disc around the supermassive black hole (SMBH). Such a disc is unstable to fragmentation and may…
Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC data in (B,I) are used to investigate the globular cluster populations around 6 gE galaxies ~40 Mpc distant. The total comprises a sample of ~8000 high-probability globular clusters. PSF-convolved King-model…
The runaway collision scenario is one of the most promising mechanisms to explain the formation of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in young dense star clusters. On the other hand, the massive stars that participate in the runaway…
Recent N-body simulations predict that large numbers of stellar black holes (BHs) could remain bound to globular clusters (GCs) at present, and merging BH--BH binaries are produced dynamically in significant numbers. We systematically vary…
Intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) are among the most elusive objects in contemporary astrophysics. Both theoretical and observational evidence of their existence is subject of debate. Conversely, both theory and observations confirm the…
The dynamical processes involving stellar-remnant black holes (BH) in stellar clusters has always drawn attention due to the BHs' potential in a number of astrophysical phenomena, especially the dynamical formation of binary black holes…
We investigate the consequences of a model of the assembly and growth of massive black holes from primordial seeds, remnants of the first generation of stars in a hierarchical structure formation scenario. Our model traces the build-up of…
Globular clusters have been alternatively predicted to host intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) or nearly impossible to form and retain them in their centres. Over the last decade enough theoretical and observational evidence have…
Globular clusters have been alternatively predicted to host intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) or nearly impossible to form and retain them in their centres. Over the last decade enough theoretical and observational evidence have…