Related papers: Open cluster BSS dynamical clock dependence on the…
I report outcomes of the analysis of the $A^+$ parameter, which measures the level of radial segregation of blue straggler stars in old star clusters, commonly known as the dynamical clock for the long-term internal dynamical evolution. I…
The parameter A+, defined as the area enclosed between the cumulative radial distribution of blue straggler stars (BSSs) and that of a reference population, is a powerful indicator of the level of BSS central segregation. As part of the…
Blue straggler stars are more massive than the average star in globular clusters, as they originate from the merger of two stars. Consequently, they experience dynamical friction, progressively sinking to the cluster center. Recently,…
We have used the ``dynamical clock'' to measure the level of dynamical evolution reached by three Galactic globular clusters (namely, NGC 3201, NGC 6316 and NGC 6440). This is an empirical method that quantifies the level of central…
The sedimentation level of blue straggler stars (BSS) has been shown to be a great tool to investigate the dynamical states of globular clusters (GCs). The area enclosed between the cumulative radial distributions of BSS and a reference…
The level of central segregation of Blue Straggler stars proved to be an excellent tracer of the dynamical evolution of old star clusters (the so-called "dynamical clock"), both in the Milky Way and in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The…
Blue straggler stars have been proposeed as powerful indicators to measure the dynamical state of Galactic globular clusters. Here we examine for the first time if this framework of blue straggler stars as dynamical clocks, which was…
Star clusters - open and globulars - experience dynamical evolution on time scales shorter than their age. Consequently, open and globular clusters provide us with unique dynamical laboratories for learning about two-body relaxation, mass…
Blue Straggler Stars (BSS) are among the brightest and more massive stars in globular clusters (GCs). For this reason they represent an ideal tool to probe the dynamical evolution of these stellar systems. Here I show, following the results…
Blue straggler stars (BSS), one of the most massive members of star clusters, have been used for over a decade to investigate mass segregation and estimate the dynamical ages of globular clusters (GCs) and open clusters (OCs). This work is…
The dynamical evolution of globular clusters is theoretically described by a series of well known events typical of N-body systems. Still, the identification of observational signatures able to empirically describe the stage of dynamical…
This chapter presents an overview of the main observational results obtained to date about Blue Straggler Stars (BSSs) in Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs). The BSS specific frequency, radial distribution, chemical composition and rotational…
We discuss the observational properties of a special class of objects (the so-called "Blue Straggler Stars", BSSs) in the framework of using this stellar population as probe of the dynamical processes occurring in high-density stellar…
Globular star clusters that formed at the same cosmic time may have evolved rather differently from a dynamical point of view (because that evolution depends on the internal environment) through a variety of processes that tend…
We consider both observational and theoretical issues related to dynamical mass loss from the old globular star clusters of the Galaxy. On the observational side the evidence includes tidal tails and extratidal extensions, kinematic…
Aims: This paper presents a new homogeneous catalogue of blue straggler stars (BSS) in Galactic open clusters. Methods: Photometric data for 216 clusters were collected from the literature and 2782 BSS candidates were extracted from 76 of…
We have used extensive V, I photometry (down to V=20.9) of 33615 stars in the direction of the globular cluster M55 to study the dynamical interaction of this cluster with the tidal fields of the Galaxy. An entire quadrant of the cluster…
This review concentrates almost entirely on globular star clusters. It emphasises the increasing realisation that few of the traditional problems of star cluster astronomy can be studied in isolation: the influence of the Galaxy affects…
The Alessandrini A$+$ indicator is a quantitative measure of star cluster dynamical evolution based on the mass-segregation of blue straggler stars. A$+$ is defined as the integral of the cumulative distribution of blue straggler stars with…
We present the results of a set of N-body simulations aimed at exploring how the process of mass segregation (as traced by the spatial distribution of blue straggler stars, BSSs) is affected by the presence of a population of heavy dark…