Related papers: Theory, Simulations and Observations of Stellar Me…
Globular clusters were thought to be simple stellar populations, but recent photometric and spectroscopic evidence suggests that the clusters' early formation history was more complicated. In particular, clusters show star-to-star abundance…
Neutron star (NS) mergers where both stars have negligible spins are commonly considered as the most likely ``standard'' case. In globular clusters, however, the majority of NSs have been spun up to millisecond (ms) periods and, based on…
Stars like company. They are mostly formed in clusters and their lives are often altered by the presence of one or more companions. Interaction processes between components may lead to complex outcomes like Algols, blue stragglers,…
The link between massive red galaxies in the local Universe and star-forming galaxies at high redshift is investigated with a semi-analytic model that has proven successful in many ways, e.g. explaining the galaxy colour-magnitude…
A significant fraction of clusters of galaxies are observed to have substructure, which implies that merging between clusters and subclusters is a rather common physical process of cluster formation. It still remains unclear how cluster…
A key unresolved question is the role that galaxy mergers play in driving stellar mass growth over cosmic time. Recent observational work hints at the possibility that the overall contribution of `major' mergers (mass ratios $\gtrsim$1:4)…
We constructed some main-sequence mergers from case A binary evolution and studied their characteristics via Eggleton's stellar evolution code. Both total mass and orbital angular momentum are conservative in our binary evolutions. Some…
This review talk explores the diverse outcomes of white dwarf mergers, emphasising that not all double degenerate mergers result in supernovae. Possible outcomes include the formation of a more massive WD, partial explosions that leave…
The growth of galaxies is a key problem in understanding the structure and evolution of the universe. Galaxies grow their stellar mass by a combination of star formation and mergers, with a relative importance that is redshift dependent.…
Interacting galaxies favor the formation of star clusters but are also suspected to affect their evolution through an intense and rapidly varying tidal field. Treating this complex behaviour remains out-of-reach of (semi-)analytical…
From spectrophotometric and chemical evolutionary modelling of interacting and merging galaxies we predict abundances of burst stars and of globular clusters (GCs) that may be formed in strong bursts. Observations of young GCs in merger…
The modern merger hypothesis offers a method of forming a new elliptical galaxy through merging two equal-mass, gas-rich disk galaxies fuelling a nuclear starburst followed by efficient quenching and dynamical stabilization. A key…
(Abridged) We develop a model for the cosmological role of mergers in the evolution of starbursts, quasars, and spheroidal galaxies. Combining halo mass functions (MFs) with empirical halo occupation models, we calculate where major…
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…
We present a technique to identify the most probable dynamical formation scenario for an observed binary or triple system containing one or more merger products or, alternatively, to rule out the possibility of a dynamical origin. Our…
Approximately 10% of massive OBA main-sequence (MS) and pre-MS stars harbour strong, large-scale magnetic fields. At the same time there is a dearth of magnetic stars in close binaries. A process generating strong magnetic fields only in…
In planetary systems with sufficiently small inter-planet spacing, close encounters can lead to planetary collisions/mergers or ejections. We study the spin property of the merger products of two giant planets in a statistical manner using…
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…
Selected results from recent studies of star formation in galaxies at different stages of interaction are reviewed. Recent results from the Spitzer Space Telescope are highlighted. Ideas on how large-scale driving of star formation in…
Galaxy mergers are common processes in the Universe. As a large fraction of galaxies hosts at their centres a central supermassive black hole (SMBH), mergers can lead to the formation of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB). The…