Related papers: An extragalactic supernebula confined by gravity
Subarcsecond infrared and radio observations yield important information about the formation of super star clusters from their surrounding gas. We discuss the general properties of ionized and molecular gas near young, forming SSCs, as…
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…
Stars in star clusters are thought to form in a single burst from a common progenitor cloud of molecular gas. However, massive, old globular clusters -- with ages greater than 10 billion years and masses of several hundred thousand solar…
An overview of our current understanding of the formation and evolution of star clusters is given, with main emphasis on high-mass clusters. Clusters form deeply embedded within dense clouds of molecular gas. Left-over gas is cleared within…
Hidden from optical view in the starburst region of the dwarf galaxy NGC 5253 lies an intense radio source with an unusual spectrum which could be interpreted variously as nebular gas ionized by a young stellar cluster or nonthermal…
Young stars form on a wide range of scales, producing aggregates and clusters with various degrees of gravitational self-binding. The loose aggregates have a hierarchical structure in both space and time that resembles interstellar…
A giant molecular cloud has been detected surrounding the supernebula in NGC 5253, revealing details of the formation and feedback process in a very massive star cluster. "Cloud D" was recently mapped in CO J=3-2 with the Submillimeter…
Understanding how distinct, near-spherical gas-free clusters of very young, massive stars shape out of vast, complex clouds of molecular hydrogen is one of the biggest challenges in astrophysics. A popular thought dictates that a single gas…
We propose that bound, young massive stellar clusters form from dense clouds that have escape speeds greater than the sound speed in photo-ionized gas. In these clumps, radiative feedback in the form of gas ionization is bottled up,…
We present new observations of the famous starburst galaxy NGC 5253 which owes its celebrity to possibly being the youngest and closest starburst galaxy known. Our observations in the infrared and millimeter contribute to shed light on the…
Their ubiquity and extreme densities make star clusters probes of prime importance of galaxy evolution. Old globular clusters keep imprints of the physical conditions of their assembly in the early Universe, and younger stellar objects,…
Most stars form in compact, dense embedded clusters with memberships ranging from a dozen stars to many millions of stars. Embedded clusters containing more than a few hundred stars also contain O stars that disrupt the nebula abruptly.…
Star cluster formation is a major mode of star formation in the extreme conditions of interacting galaxies and violent starbursts. Young clusters are observed to form in a variety of such galaxies, a substantial number resembling the…
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…
Stars mostly form in groups consisting of a few dozen to several ten thousand members. For 30 years, theoretical models provide a basic concept of how such star clusters form and develop: they originate from the gas and dust of collapsing…
Globular clusters host complex stellar populations whose chemical signatures suggest early (3 Myr - 1 Gyr) retention and reprocessing of stellar ejecta, yet direct evidence for intracluster gas is lacking. Here we present a unified…
Globular Cluster (GC) formation seems to be a widespread mode of star formation in extreme starbursts triggered by strong interactions and mergers of massive gas-rich galaxies. We use our detailed chemically consistent evolutionary…
High-mass stars are commonly found in stellar clusters promoting the idea that their formation occurs due to the physical processes linked with a young stellar cluster. It has recently been reported that isolated high-mass stars are present…
The empirical laws of star formation suggest that galactic-scale gravity is involved, but they do not identify the actual triggering mechanisms for clusters in the final stages. Many other triggering processes satisfy the empirical laws…
The ability of HST to resolve objects ten times smaller than possible from the ground has rejuvenated the study of young star clusters. A recurrent morphological theme found in nearby resolved sytems is the observation of young (typically 1…