Related papers: The Missing Link in Star Cluster Evolution
Strongly star-forming galaxies are prolific in producing the young and most massive star clusters (YMCs) still forming today. This work investigates the star cluster luminosity functions (CLFs, dN/dL ~ L^{-alpha}) of 26 starburst and…
Star clusters represent the most common 'mode' of star formation. They are found in all types of environments, cascading down from galaxy groups and merging pairs through starbursts to normal galaxies and dwarves and even isolated regions…
We perform $N$-body simulations of star clusters in time-dependant galactic potentials. Since the Milky Way was built-up through mergers with dwarf galaxies, its globular cluster population is made up of clusters formed both during the…
Combined HST, X-ray, and ground-based optical studies show that clusters of galaxies are largely "in place" by $z \sim 1$, an epoch when the Universe was less than half its present age. High resolution images show that elliptical, S0, and…
Observations of rich LMC and SMC clusters reveal an increasing spread in core radius with age. This trend likely represents real physical evolution in these systems. Old Magellanic Cloud clusters appear either extended or compact. Similar…
We study the evolution of two fundamental properties of galaxy clusters: the luminosity function (LF) and the scaling relations between the total galaxy number N (or luminosity) and cluster mass M. Using a sample of 27 clusters (0<z<0.9)…
Current empirical evidence on the star-formation processes in the extreme, high-pressure environments induced by galaxy encounters (mostly based on high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope observations) strongly suggests that star CLUSTER…
Globular clusters are collisional systems, meaning that the stars inside them interact on timescales much shorter than the age of the Universe. These frequent interactions transfer energy between stars and set up observable trends that tell…
Recent observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have revealed that a large fraction of late-type (Sc and later) spiral galaxies harbor a bright, compact stellar cluster in their dynamical centers. Statistics of the mass, age, and…
The study of the internal structure of star clusters provides important clues concerning their formation mechanism and dynamical evolution. There are both observational and numerical evidences indicating that open clusters evolve from an…
The process that leads to the formation and early evolution of low-mass stars is in a broad sense well understood theoretically and carefully traced observationally. The largest uncertainties in this framework reside in the poorly known…
We present observations obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope of the "fossil" starburst region B in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. By comparing UBVI photometry with models, we derive ages and…
The currently available empirical evidence on the star formation processes in the extreme, high-pressure environments induced by galaxy encounters, mostly based on high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging observations, strongly…
The globular cluster population in M87 has decreased measurably through dynamical evolution caused by relaxation, binary heating and time-dependent tidal perturbation. For fundamental plane ellipticals in general, cluster populations evolve…
More than 50 years have elapsed since the first studies of star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. The wealth of data accumulated since then has not only revealed a large cluster system, but also a diversified one, filling loci in the age,…
Nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are the densest stellar systems in the Universe. They can be found at the center of all galaxy types, but tend to favor galaxies of intermediate stellar mass around 10$^9\,$M$_{\odot}$[1, 2]. Currently, two main…
The surface brightness profiles of globular clusters are conventionally described with the well-known King profile. However, observations of young massive clusters (YMCs) in the local Universe suggest that they are better fit by simple…
We show that we can obtain a good fit to the present day stellar mass functions (MFs) of a large sample of young and old Galactic clusters in the range 0.1 - 10 Msolar with a tapered power law distribution function with an exponential…
The analysis of the distribution of stars in open clusters may yield important information on the star formation process and early dynamical evolution of stellar clusters. Here we address this issue by systematically characterizing the…
The evolution of star clusters is studied using N-body simulations in which the evolution of single stars and binaries are taken self-consistently into account. Initial conditions are chosen to represent relatively young Galactic open…