Related papers: Galactic nuclear activity induced by globular clus…
Enhancement and spread of helium among globular cluster stars have been recently suggested as a way to explain the horizontal branch blue tails, in those clusters which show a primordial spread in the abundances of CNO and other elements…
In this overview of the key properties of globular cluster (GC) systems I show that the GCs in elliptical and spiral host galaxies have more in common than previously thought. After contrasting these properties I briefly comment on GC…
In about 40% of the Local Group galaxies star clusters have been detected so far, but the census is still incomplete. The properties of these clusters are briefly reviewed, and the impact of galaxy environment on the evolution and survival…
We present results of fully self-consistent N-body simulations of the motion of four globular clusters moving in the inner region of their parent galaxy. With regard to previous simplified simulations, we confirm merging and formation of an…
I set the stage for discussion of the stellar populations in interacting galaxies by looking back over the slow development of our understanding of these systems. From early anecdotal collections, to systematic cataloging, and finally to…
The relics of building blocks that made stellar halo and bulge are yet to be discovered unless they were completely disrupted throughout the history of the Galaxy. Here we suggest that about 25% of the Milky Way globular clusters have…
The subject of the paper is the role of the massive stellar cluster in the activity phenomenon and in the structure of active galactic nuclei. We introduce a simple model of stellar dynamics in the internal part of the cluster, which allows…
Most clusters and groups of galaxies contain a giant elliptical galaxy in their centres which far outshines and outweighs normal ellipticals. The origin of these brightest cluster galaxies is intimately related to the collapse and formation…
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…
We present parsec-scale kinematics of eleven nearby galactic nuclei, derived from adaptive-optics assisted integral-field spectroscopy at (near-infrared) CO band-head wavelengths. We focus our analysis on the balance between ordered…
Globular clusters are stellar dynamical systems which evolve on stellar evolutionary and both internal and external dynamical timescales. Quantitative comparison of cluster properties with realistic evolutionary dynamical models is becoming…
Properties of 53 globular cluster systems are investigated. Strong correlations are found between parent galaxy luminosity and both the slope of the radial density profile for clusters and the width of the cluster color (metallicity)…
Though it is generally assumed that massive molecular clouds are the progenitors of globular clusters, their detailed formation mechanism is still unclear. Standard scenarios based on the collapse of a smooth matter distribution suffer from…
We summarize some recent results from our observational campaign to study the central regions of spiral galaxies of late Hubble type (Scd - Sm). These disk-dominated, bulgeless galaxies have an apparently uneventful merger history. The…
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…
The growth of galaxies through adiabatic accretion of dark matter is one of the main drivers of galaxy evolution. By isolating it from other processes like mergers, we analyse how it affects the evolution of star clusters. Our study…
The properties of old globular cluster systems (GCSs) in galaxy halos offer unique insight into the physical processes that conspire to form any generic star cluster, at any epoch. Presented here is a summary of the information obtained…
In the center of the Milky Way, as well as in many other galaxies, a compact star cluster around a very massive black hole is observed. One of the possible explanations for the formation of such Nuclear Star Clusters is based on the…
We probe the evolution of globular clusters that could form in giant molecular clouds within high-redshift galaxies. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the large and dense enough gas clouds assemble naturally in current hierarchical…
It is suggested that there have been at least two physically distinct epochs of massive cluster formation. The first generation of globular clusters may have formed as halo gas was compressed by shocks driven inward by ionization fronts…