Related papers: The Initial Mass Function in the Galactic Center
I will discuss the presence of massive star clusters in starburst galaxies with an emphasis on low mass galaxies outside the local group. I will show that such galaxies, with respect to their mass and luminosity, may be very rich in young…
Super star clusters are the end product of star formation under the most extreme conditions. As such, studying how their final stellar populations are assembled from their natal progenitor gas clouds can provide strong constraints on star…
High-mass stars are major players in the chemical and dynamical evolution of galaxies, and young massive clusters are the natural laboratories to study their evolution and their impact on star formation processes. Only in recent years have…
The formation of the stellar mass within galaxy cluster cores is a poorly understood process. It features the complicated physics of cooling flows, AGN feedback, star formation and more. Here, we study the growth of the stellar mass in the…
A new model for the formation of active galaxies is described. A key feature of this model is the idea that the birth of black holes in the centers of supergiant galaxies is strongly influenced by the large-scale distribution of matter in…
Deep infra-red observations and long-term monitoring programs have provided dynamical evidence for a supermassive black hole of mass 3.e6 solar masses associated with the radio source Sagitarrius A* at the center of our Galaxy. The…
Massive clusters are now seen to form easily in interacting and merging galaxies, making these excellent environments for studying the properties of young clusters. New observations of the Antennae (NGC 4038/39) show that the most luminous…
The numerous and massive young star clusters in blue compact galaxies (BCGs) are used to investigate the properties of their hosts. We test whether BCGs follow claimed relations between cluster populations and their hosts, such as the the…
High resolution X-ray spectra reveal hidden cooling flows depositing cold gas at the centres of massive nearby early-type galaxies with little sign of normal star formation. Optical observations are revealing that a bottom-heavy Initial…
The stellar initial mass functions (IMFs) for the Galactic bulge, the Milky Way, other galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the integrated stars in the Universe are composites from countless individual IMFs in star clusters and associations…
Stars in star clusters are thought to form in a single burst from a common progenitor cloud of molecular gas. However, massive, old globular clusters -- with ages greater than 10 billion years and masses of several hundred thousand solar…
Central cluster galaxies are the largest and most massive galaxies in the Universe. Although they host very old stellar populations, several studies found the existence of blue cores in some BCGs indicating ongoing star formation. We…
High-velocity clouds (HVCs) in the Galactic center have garnered significant attention due to their mysterious formation, potentially linked to starburst events or supermassive black hole activity in the region. However, it remains…
Young, massive star clusters are the most notable and significant end products of violent star-forming episodes triggered by galaxy collisions, mergers, and close encounters. The question remains, however, whether or not at least a fraction…
Various past theoretical considerations and observational efforts suggest the presence of a population of stellar-mass black holes in the innermost parsec of the Galactic centre. In this Letter, we investigate the impact of these black…
The massive black hole (MBH) in the Galactic Center and the stars around it form a unique stellar dynamics laboratory for studying how relaxation processes affect the distribution of stars and compact remnants and lead to close interactions…
Within the birth environment of a massive globular cluster, the combination of a luminous young stellar population and a high column density induces a state in which the thermal optical depth and radiation pressure are both appreciable. In…
In this contribution we review our recent numerical work discussing the essential role of the local cluster environment in assembling massive stars. First we show that massive stars are formed from low mass pre-stellar cores and become…
Globular clusters (GCs) are thought to be ancient relics from the early formative phase of galaxies, although their physical origin remains uncertain. GCs are most numerous around massive elliptical galaxies, where they can exhibit a broad…
The current census of, and stellar population in, massive Galactic star clusters is reviewed. In particular, we concentrate on a recent survey of obscured Galactic Giant H II (GHII) regions and the associated stellar clusters embedded in…