Related papers: Formation pathways of the compact stellar systems
Observed cusps with density profiles $\rho\propto r^{-1}$ or shallower, in the central regions of galaxies, cannot be reproduced in the standard Cold Dark Matter (CDM) picture of hierarchical clustering. Previous claims to the contrary were…
If the favored hierarchical cosmological model is correct, then the Milky Way system should have accreted ~100-200 luminous satellite galaxies in the past \~12 Gyr. We model this process using a hybrid semi-analytic plus N-body approach…
We use very high resolution cosmological zoom simulations to follow the early evolution of twelve first-generation haloes formed from gaussian initial conditions with scale-free power spectra truncated on small scales by a gaussian in…
We study stellar-halo formation using six Milky Way-mass galaxies in FIRE-2 cosmological zoom simulations. We find that $5-40\%$ of the outer ($50-300$ kpc) stellar halo in each system consists of $\textit{in-situ}$ stars that were born in…
The difference in density profiles of the contributions from different density peaks to dark matter halos results in certain expectations about the Milky Way's stellar halo. We cut our simulated halo stars into two populations: those…
Stars are born within dense clumps of giant molecular clouds, constituting young stellar agglomerates known as embedded clusters, which only evolve into bound open clusters under special conditions. We statistically study all embedded…
A significant fraction of the stellar population in the cusp around central black holes of galaxies consists of compact remnants of evolved stars, such as white dwarfs, neutron stars and stellar mass black holes. We estimate the rate of…
To break the degeneracy among galactic stellar components, we extract kinematic structures using the framework described in Du et al. (2019, 2020). For example, the concept of stellar halos is generalized to weakly-rotating structures that…
The origin of ultracompact dwarf (UCD) galaxies, compact extragalactic stellar systems, is still a puzzle for present galaxy formation models. We present the comprehensive analysis of high resolution multi-object spectroscopic data for a…
The stellar populations in the inner kiloparsecs of the Milky Way (MW) show complex kinematical and chemical structures. The origin and evolution of these structures is still under debate. Here we study the central region of a fully…
The sample of known star clusters, the fundamental building blocks of galaxies, in the Milky Way is still extremely incomplete for objects beyond a distance of 1-2kpc. Many of the more distant and young clusters are compact and hidden…
What is the nature of a star forming clump? Observations reveal these to be chaotic environments being modified and influenced by many physical processes. However, numerical simulations often define these initial star forming clumps to be…
The Sun likely formed as part of a group of stars. A close stellar flyby by one of the solar siblings is probably responsible for the sharp outer edge in the solar system`s mass distribution. The frequency of such close flybys can be used…
In order to understand the formation process of elliptical galaxies which are not rotationally supported, we have carried out numerical simulations of the galaxy formation from the density perturbation with a rotation corresponding to a…
We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs)…
We describe high resolution Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of three approximately $M_*$ field galaxies starting from \LCDM initial conditions. The simulations are made intentionally simple, and include photoionization,…
Observations reveal a striking diversity in dwarf galaxy structures, spanning a wide range of masses, inner density slopes, shapes, and sizes. Tidal stripping may play a crucial role in shaping the evolution of these galaxies, yet the…
The formation of "stellar halos" in dwarf galaxies have been discussed in terms of early mergers or Galactic tides, although fluctuations in the gravitational potential due to stellar feedback is also a possible candidate mechanism. A…
Nuclear stellar cluster (NSCs) are known to exist around massive black holes (MBHs) in galactic nuclei. Two formation scenarios were suggested for their origin: Build-up of NSCs and Continuous in-situ star-formation. Here we study the…
Observations have revealed that most stars are born in clusters. These systems, containing from tens to thousands of stars and typically significant mass in gas in the youngest systems, evolve due to a combination of stellar and star-gas…