Related papers: The stellar IMF of Galactic clusters and its evolu…
We compare [alpha/Fe], metallicity, and age distributions of globular clusters in elliptical, lenticular, and spiral galaxies, which we derive from Lick line index measurements. We find a large number of globular clusters in elliptical…
Typical globular clusters (GCs - young and old) host stellar populations with little or no star-to-star variations in heavy elements (e.g., Ca, Fe) nor in age. Nuclear star clusters (NSCs), on the other hand, host complex stellar…
In order to estimate the masses of the compact, young star clusters in the merging galaxy pair, NGC 4038/4039 (``the Antennae''), we have obtained medium and high resolution spectroscopy using ISAAC on VLT-UT1 and UVES on VLT-UT2 of five…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) integrated over an entire galaxy is an integral over all separate star-formation events. Since most stars form in star clusters with different masses the integrated IMF becomes an integral of the…
The diagnostic age versus mass-to-light ratio diagram is often used in attempts to constrain the shape of the stellar initial mass function (IMF), and the potential longevity of extragalactic young to intermediate-age massive star clusters.…
We demonstrate that the mass of the most massive star in a cluster correlates non-trivially with the cluster mass. A simple algorithm according to which a cluster is filled up with stars that are chosen randomly from the standard IMF but…
This paper is part of a series devoted to the study of the stellar populations in brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), aimed at setting constraints on the formation and evolution of these objects. We have obtained high signal-to-noise ratio,…
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…
I use a sample of more than 120,000 stars in the solar neighbourhood with parallaxes, magnitudes and colours estimated with unprecedented accuracy by the second data release of the Gaia mission to derive the initial mass function of the…
Several observational and theoretical indications suggest that the initial mass function (IMF) becomes increasingly top-heavy (i.e., overabundant in high-mass stars with mass $m > 1M_{\odot}$) with decreasing metallicity and increasing gas…
Current observational constraints on the dynamical evolution of star clusters are reviewed. Theory and observations now agree nicely on the mass dependency and time scales for disruption of young star clusters in galactic disks, but many…
An essential component of galaxy formation theory is the stellar initial mass function (IMF), that describes the parent distribution of stellar mass in star forming regions. We present observational evidence in a sample of early-type…
[ABRIDGED] The LMC star cluster system offers the unique opportunity to independently check the accuracy of age and mass determinations based on a number of complementary techniques, including isochrone analysis. Using our sophisticated…
It has recently been established that the properties of young star clusters (YSCs) can vary as a function of the galactic environment in which they are found. We use the cluster catalogue produced by the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey…
The initial sizes and masses of massive star clusters provide information about the cluster formation process and also determine how cluster populations are modified and destroyed, which have implications for using clusters as tracers of…
We derive the average mass profile of elliptical galaxies from the ensemble of 161 strong gravitational lens systems selected from several surveys, assuming that the mass profile scales with the stellar mass and effective radius of each…
The observed distribution of IMF shapes can be understood as statistical sampling from a universal IMF and variations that result from stellar-dynamical processes. However, young star clusters appear to have an IMF biased towards low-mass…
We present homogeneous age determinations for a large sample of 55 Galactic globular clusters, which constitute about 30% of the total Galactic population. A study of their age distribution reveals that all clusters from the most metal poor…
Here we model a star forming factory in which the continuous creation of stars results in a highly concentrated, massive (globular cluster-like) stellar system. We show that under very general conditions a large-scale gravitational…
The distribution of stars and stellar remnants (white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes) within globular clusters holds clues about their formation and long-term evolution, with important implications for their initial mass function (IMF)…