Related papers: Observational Constraints on Cluster Evolution
Several recent studies have shown that the star cluster initial mass function (CIMF) can be well approximated by a power law, with indications for a steepening or truncation at high masses. This contribution considers the evolution of such…
Star clusters are observed to form in a highly compact state and with low star-formation efficiencies, and only 10 per cent of all clusters appear to survive to middle- and old-dynamical age. If the residual gas is expelled on a dynamical…
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…
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,…
In the first part of this article, we review observations of the mass and luminosity functions of young and old star cluster systems. We also review some of the physical processes that may determine the characteristic mass of globular…
Star clusters are observed to form in a highly compact state and with low star-formation efficiencies. If the residual gas is expelled on a dynamical time the clusters disrupt thereby (i) feeding a hot kinematical stellar component into…
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.…
This paper reviews some of the observational properties of globular cluster systems, with a particular focus on those that constrain and inform models of the formation and dynamical evolution of globular cluster systems. I first discuss the…
We investigate the evolution of the mass function of the Galactic globular cluster system (GCMF) taking into account the effects of stellar evolution, two-body relaxation, disk shocking and dynamical friction on the evolution of individual…
The near-universal turnover mass of the present-day globular cluster mass function (GCMF), $M_{\rm TO} \sim 2 \times 10^5\ {\rm M_\odot}$, is a well established observational feature across galaxies of different types and masses, providing…
In about 40% of the Local Group galaxies star clusters have been detected so far, but the census is still incomplete. The properties of these clusters are briefly reviewed, and the impact of galaxy environment on the evolution and survival…
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 present new constraints on the initial mass spectrum of the Galactic Old Halo globular clusters. This has remained poorly-known so far, as both an initial power-law mass spectrum and an initial lognormal mass function could have evolved…
Stars form in embedded star clusters which play a key role in determining the properties of a galaxy's stellar population. Physical mechanisms discussed in this paper are runaway stars shot out from young clusters, binary-star disruption in…
We review many of the basic properties of star cluster systems, and focus in particular on how they relate to their host galaxy properties and ambient environment. The cluster mass and luminosity functions are well approximated by…
We have studied the evolution of globular cluster systems (GCS) in elliptical galaxies with a power-law initial GCS mass function (GCMF) ($f(M) \propto M^{-\alpha}$) similar to that predicted by some theoretical studies of globular clusters…
The presence of a population of a large number ($\sim$400) of almost coeval (100--300 Myr) super star clusters (SSCs) in the disk of M82 offers an opportunity to construct the Cluster Initial Mass Function (CIMF) from the observed…
In this paper we show the results of a large set of N-body simulations modelling the evolution of globular clusters driven by relaxation,stellar evolution,disk shocking and including the effects of the tidal field of the Galaxy. We…
We study the evolution of globular cluster systems (GCS) in elliptical galaxies and explore the dependence of their main properties on the mass and the size of the host galaxy.The dependence of the evolution of the GCS mass function (GCMF),…
In this paper, we discuss the origin of the observed correlation between cluster concentration c and present-day mass function (PDMF) slope {\alpha} reported by De Marchi, Paresce & Pulone. This relation can either be reproduced from…