Related papers: Distant globular clusters with anomalously small m…
Low-mass galaxies in nearby clusters are the most numerous galaxy type in the universe, yet their origin and properties remain largely unknown. To study basic questions concerning these galaxies we present the results of a survey designed…
Based on an almost complete sample of Galactic open star clusters within 1.8 kpc, we perform a comprehensive statistical analysis of various cluster parameters like spatial position, age, size, mass and extinction in order to understand the…
We use recently derived ages for 61 Milky Way (MW) globular clusters (GCs) to show that their age-metallicity relation (AMR) can be divided into two distinct, parallel sequences at [Fe/H] $\ga -1.8$. Approximately one-third of the clusters…
The recent Gaia Data Release 1 of stellar parallaxes provides ample opportunity to find metal-poor main-sequence stars with precise parallaxes. We select 21 such stars with parallax uncertainties better than $\sigma_\pi/\pi\leq0.10$ and…
I review the characteristics of cluster populations in other galaxies, with particular emphasis on young star clusters and a comparison with the (known) open cluster population of the Milky Way. Young globular cluster-like (compact,…
We introduce our project that investigates the kinematic properties of early-type galaxies in 6 distant poor clusters at z~0.25. This study represents a continuation of our efforts to understand galaxy evolution in low-density environments.…
The differences in the relationships between the physical parameters and the chemical-element abundances in accreted globular star clusters and those formed inside the Galaxy have been investigated. The information on the supposed formation…
We have determined the total numbers and specific frequencies of blue, metal-poor globular clusters (GCs) in eight spiral and early-type galaxies. These data, along with five measurements from the literature, show a trend of increasing blue…
Mergers of gas-rich galaxies lead to gravitationally driven increases in gas pressure that can trigger intense bursts of star and cluster formation. Although star formation itself is clustered, most newborn stellar aggregates are unbound…
I discuss the chemical evolution of star clusters, with emphasis on old globular clusters, in relation to their formation histories. Globular clusters clearly formed in a complex fashion, under markedly different conditions from any younger…
In the standard theory of growth of the nonbaryonic dark matter, cosmic structures form hierarchically and self-similarly from smaller clumps. The assembly merger tree goes from the linear perturbations in the early universe to highly non…
Some of the most massive globular clusters of our Milky Way, such as for example omega-Centauri, show a mixture of stellar populations spanning a few Gyr in age and 1.5 dex in metallicities. In contrast, standard formation scenarios predict…
High signal-to-noise, low-resolution spectra have been obtained for 22 globular clusters (GCs) in NGC 4365. Some of these were selected as probable representatives of an intermediate-age (2-5 Gyr), extremely metal-rich GC subpopulation. The…
We have investigated the properties of a volume and magnitude limited sample of nearby early type galaxies that were carefully selected from the AAO two degree field galaxy redshift survey. We used images from the DSS to confirm the E/S0…
We report the results of a systematic photometric survey of the peripheral regions of a sample of fourteen globular clusters in the outer halo of the Milky Way at distances d_GC>25 kpc from the Galactic centre. The survey is aimed at…
Using ground-based UBVRI+Halpha CCD photometry we have been carrying out a search for young massive star clusters (YMCs) in a sample consisting of 21 nearby spiral galaxies. We find a large variety concerning the richness of the cluster…
Metal-rich (red) globular clusters in massive galaxies are, on average, smaller than metal-poor (blue) globular clusters. One of the possible explanations for this phenomenon is that the two populations of clusters have different spatial…
In the last decade we have come to realize that the traditional classification of stellar clusters into open and globular clusters cannot be easily extended beyond the realm of the Milky Way, and that even for our Galaxy it is not fully…
Globular clusters (GCs) are the most ancient stellar systems in the Milky Way. Therefore, they play a key role in the understanding of the early chemical and dynamical evolution of our Galaxy. Around $40\%$ of them are placed within $\sim4$…
We present a new analysis of the properties of the young massive star clusters, which demonstrates that these objects are plausible progenitors of old globular clusters (GCs). The method is based on the tight relationship for old GCs…