Related papers: Mass segregation in rich clusters in the Large Mag…
The initial mass function (IMF) succinctly characterizes a stellar population, provides a statistical measure of the end result of the star-formation process, and informs our under- standing of the structure and dynamical evolution of…
A method is presented here for investigating variations in the upper end of the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) by probing the production rate of ionizing photons in unresolved, compact star clusters with ages<10 Myr and covering a…
(abridged) The case can be made for a rather universal stellar IMF form that can be approximated by a two-part power-law function in the stellar regime. However, there exists a possible hint for a systematic variation with metallicity. A…
We present results of age determination based on the standard procedure of isochrone fitting for about 600 star clusters younger than about 1.2 Gyr from the central parts of the LMC. Comparison of age distributions of star clusters from the…
Recent studies have shown that an extended main-sequence turn-off is a common feature among intermediate-age clusters (1--3 Gyr) in the Magellanic Clouds. Multiple-generation star formation and stellar rotation or interacting binaries have…
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…
Observations of young star clusters reveal that the high-mass end of the cluster initial mass function (CIMF) deviates from a pure power-law and instead truncates exponentially. We investigate the effects of this truncation on the formation…
We review recent advances in our understanding of the origin of the initial mass function (IMF). We emphasize the use of numerical simulations to investigate how each physical process involved in star formation affects the resulting IMF. We…
It has been recently shown from observational data sets the variation of structural parameters and internal dynamical evolution of star clusters in the Milky Way and in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), caused by the different gravitational…
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…
The rich star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) are ideal for studying the process of star formation. Here we focus on the determination of age spreads amongst the massive stars in two young clusters, NGC1818 and NGC1805. We…
Most star clusters at an intermediate age (1-2 Gyr) in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds show a puzzling feature in their color-magnitude diagrams (CMD) that is not in agreement with a simple stellar population. The main sequence…
Mass segregation is observed in many star clusters, including several that are less than a few Myr old. Timescale arguments are frequently used to argue that these clusters must be displaying primordial segregation, because they are too…
The early evolution of star clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) has been the subject of significant recent controversy, particularly regarding the importance and length of the earliest, largely mass-independent disruption phase…
In many different galactic environments the cluster initial mass function (CIMF) is well described by a power-law with index -2. This implies a linear relation between the mass of the most massive cluster (M_max) and the number of clusters.…
Recently, a noticeable number of new star clusters was identified in the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) populating the so-called star cluster age gap, a space of time (~ 4-12 Gyr) where the only known star cluster is…
In this paper we discuss the age and spatial distribution of young (age$<$1Gyr) SMC and LMC clusters using data from the Magellanic Cloud Photometric Surveys. Luminosities are calculated for all age-dated clusters. Ages of 324 and 1193…
This contribution addresses the question of whether the initial cluster mass function (ICMF) has a fundamental limit (or truncation) at high masses. The shape of the ICMF at high masses can be studied using the most massive young (<10 Myr)…
Star formation in the early Universe has left its imprint on the chemistry of observable stars in galaxies. We derive elemental abundances and the slope of the low-mass end of the initial mass function (IMF) for a sample of 25 very massive…
Globular clusters are often assumed to be good tracers of major star formation episodes in their host galaxies. While observations over the past 2 decades have confirmed the presence of young objects with globular cluster-like properties in…