Related papers: How Did Globular Clusters Form?
Recent progress in the understanding of star formation is summarized. A consistent picture is emerging where molecular clouds form with turbulent velocity fields and clumpy substructure, imprinted already during their formation. The clouds…
Early-type dwarf galaxies are found to have high specific globular cluster frequencies which are similar to the high S values that are observed in luminous galaxies of types E and S0. It appears unlikely that cluster formation during…
Star clusters are known to be formed in turbulent molecular clouds. How turbulence is driven in molecular clouds and what effect this has on star formation is still unclear. We compare a simulation setup with turbulent driving everywhere in…
The cosmic history of star formation is briefly reviewed, starting with the Milky Way and then discussing observations relevant to the closed box and hierarchical build-up models. Observations of local star formation are reviewed for…
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…
The log-normal shape of the mass function for metal-poor halo globular clusters is proposed to result from an initial M^{-2} power law modified rapidly by evaporation, collisions with clouds, and mutual cluster interactions in the dense…
Little is known about the origins of the giant star clusters known as globular clusters. How can hundreds of thousands of stars form simultaneously in a volume only a few light years across the distance of the sun to its nearest neighbor?…
Stars and star clusters form by gravoturbulent fragmentation of interstellar gas clouds. The supersonic turbulence ubiquitously observed in Galactic molecular gas generates strong density fluctuations with gravity taking over in the densest…
We develop a model of globular cluster (GC) formation within the cosmological hierarchy of structure formation. The model is rooted in the `two-phase' scenario of galaxy formation developed in Paper-I, where the fast accretion of dark…
How starburst clusters form out of molecular clouds is still an open question. In this article, I highlight some of the key constraints in this regard, that one can get from the dynamical evolutionary properties of dense stellar systems. I…
In a series of three papers, we introduced a novel cluster formation model that describes the formation, growth, and disruption of star clusters in high-resolution cosmological simulations. We tested this model on a Milky Way-sized galaxy…
Present-day clusters are massive halos containing mostly quiescent galaxies, while distant protoclusters are extended structures containing numerous star-forming galaxies. We investigate the implications of this fundamental change in a…
We investigate the interactions of high-redshift galaxy outflows with low-mass virialized (Tvir < 10,000K) clouds of primordial composition. While atomic cooling allows star formation in larger primordial objects, such "minihalos" are…
Turbulence, self-gravity, and cooling convert most of the interstellar medium into cloudy structures that form stars. Turbulence compresses the gas into clouds directly and it moves pre-existing clouds around passively when there are…
We study gravitational instabilities in disks, with special attention to the most massive clumps that form because they are expected to be the progenitors of globular-type clusters. The maximum unstable mass is set by rotation and depends…
We study gravitational instabilities in disks, with special attention to the most massive clumps that form because they are expected to be the progenitors of globular-type clusters. The maximum unstable mass is set by rotation and depends…
Star formation in starbursts appears to be biased toward compact clusters, with up to 20% of all stars formed in them. Observations with HST show that many of these clusters have luminosities (-9 > Mv > -16), UBVI colors, and half-light…
Massive stars in young massive clusters insert tremendous amounts of mass and energy into their surroundings in the form of stellar winds and supernova ejecta. Mutual shock-shock collisions lead to formation of hot gas, filling the volume…
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…
In the first part of this article, we review observations of the mass and luminosity functions of young and old star cluster systems. We also review some of the physical processes that may determine the characteristic mass of globular…