Related papers: The Onset of Cluster Formation around Intermediate…
The large body of near infrared observations presented in Testi et al. (1997; 1998) are analysed with the aim of characterizing the young stellar clusters surrounding Herbig Ae/Be stars. The results confirm the tendency of early Be stars to…
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…
Young star clusters with masses similar to those of classical old globular clusters are observed not only in starbursts, mergers or otherwise disturbed galaxies, but also in normal spiral galaxies. Some young clusters with masses as high as…
Young stars form on a wide range of scales, producing aggregates and clusters with various degrees of gravitational self-binding. The loose aggregates have a hierarchical structure in both space and time that resembles interstellar…
We review recent work that investigates the formation of stellar clusters, ranging in scale from globular clusters through open clusters to the small scale aggregates of stars observed in T associations. In all cases, recent advances in…
We review recent high spatial resolution millimeter continuum and spectral line observations of (proto-)cluster regions. These observations reveal that the mass distribution of prestellar cores is consistent with the initial mass function…
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…
By virtue of their young age and intermediate mass, Herbig AeBe stars represent a cornerstone for our understanding of the mass-dependency of both the stellar and planetary formation processes. In this contribution, I review the current…
During their evolution, star clusters undergo mass segregation, by which the orbits of the most massive stars shrink, while the lighter stars move outwards from the cluster centre. In this context, recent observations and dynamical…
Stars do not generally form in isolation. Instead, they form in clusters, and in these clustered environments newborn stars can have profound effects on one another and on their parent gas clouds. Feedback from clustered stars is almost…
It is believed that the majority of stars form in clusters. Therefore it is likely that the gas physical conditions that prevail in forming clusters, largely determine the properties of stars that form and in particular the initial mass…
Recent high-resolution observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) reveal that young star clusters of extraordinary luminosity and compactness ("super star clusters") are commonly found in starburst systems. Cluster formation appears…
The interplay between the ISM and the massive stars formed in clusters and, more generally, in recent events of star formation is reviewed via the global effects each has on the other. The pre-existing environment affects the properties of…
We report on the identification of 54 embedded clusters around 217 massive protostellar candidates of which 34 clusters are new detections. The embedded clusters are identified as stellar surface density enhancements in the 2 $\mu$m All Sky…
We present a photometric survey aimed to characterize the Be star population of young open clusters. It is found that in these clusters early-type Be stars are more frequent than in the galactic field, and late-type Be stars are scarce or…
[Abridged] Twenty-six high-luminosity IRAS sources believed to be collection of stars in the early phases of high-mass star formation have been observed in the NIR (J, H, K) to characterize the clustering properties of their young stellar…
The discovery of young globular clusters in merging galaxies and other environments provides an opportunity to study directly the process of globular cluster formation. Empirically it appears that globular cluster formation occurs…
We present NIR and MIR observations of eight embedded young stellar groups around Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAEBEs) using archived Spitzer IRAC data and 2MASS data. These young stellar groups are nearby ($\leq$ 1 kpc) and still embedded within…
Nearby dwarf irregular galaxies were searched for compact star clusters using data from the HST archives. Three of the galaxies were found to host both populous clusters (M_V<-9.5 at a fiducial age of 10 Myr) and super-star clusters…
We present a study of the abundance of Be stars in open clusters as a function of the cluster age, using whenever possible ages determined through Stromgren uvby photometry. For the first time in studies of this kind we have considered…