Related papers: Observational Constraints on Cluster Evolution
We investigate how a single generation galactic mass function (SGMF) depends on the existence of variations in the initial stellar mass functions (IMF) of stellar clusters. We show that cluster-to-cluster variations of the IMF lead to a…
Our current understanding of the stellar initial mass function and massive star evolution suggests that young globular clusters may have formed hundreds to thousands of stellar-mass black holes, the remnants of stars with initial masses…
[abridged] Stars are thought to be formed predominantly in clusters. The clusters are formed following a cluster initial mass function (CMF) similar to the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Both the IMF and the CMF favour low-mass…
Over the past years observations of young and populous star clusters have shown that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) can be conveniently described by a two-part power-law with an exponent alpha_2 = 2.3 for stars more massive than…
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…
Stars form predominantly in groups usually denoted as clusters or associations. The observed stellar groups display a broad spectrum of masses, sizes and other properties, so it is often assumed that there is no underlying structure in this…
To understand how systems of star clusters have reached their presently observed properties constitutes a powerful probe into the physics of cluster formation, without needing to resort to high spatial resolution observations of individual…
Several recent observational studies have shown that the clustering of young stars in local star-forming regions, and of Cepheids in the LMC, can be described by a power law two-point correlation function. We show by numerical simulations…
We measure the velocity dispersions of six, galactic globular clusters using spatially integrated spectra, to test for the effects of internal dynamical evolution in the stellar mass-to-light ratios, Upsilon_*, of star clusters. In…
The goal of this paper is to test whether the formation rate of star clusters is proportional to the star formation rate (SFR) in galaxies. As a first step, we present the mass functions of compact clusters younger than 10 Myr in seven…
The stellar initial mass functions (IMFs) for the Galactic bulge, the Milky Way, other galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the integrated stars in the Universe are composites from countless individual IMFs in star clusters and associations…
Galaxies in clusters are gas-deficient and a number of possible explanations for this observation have been advanced, including galaxy-cluster tidal interactions, galaxy harassment, and ISM-ICM gas stripping. In this paper, we use a…
We highlight the impact of cluster-mass-dependent evolutionary rates upon the evolution of the cluster mass function during violent relaxation, that is, while clusters dynamically respond to the expulsion of their residual star-forming gas.…
HST is very well tailored for observations of extragalactic star clusters. One obvious reason is HST's high spatial resolution, but equally important is the wavelength range offered by the instruments on board HST, in particular the blue…
The majority of observed mass-to-light ratios of globular clusters are too low to be explained by `canonical' cluster models, in which dynamical effects are not accounted for. Moreover, these models do not reproduce a recently reported…
We investigate the formation and early evolution of star clusters assuming that they form from a turbulent starless clump of given mass bounded inside a parent self-gravitating molecular cloud characterized by a particular mass surface…
We present a new technique to quantify cluster-to-cluster variations in the observed present-day stellar mass functions of a large sample of star clusters. Our method quantifies these differences as a function of both the stellar mass and…
This paper addresses the questions of what we have learned about how and when dense star clusters form, and what studies of star clusters have revealed about galaxy formation and evolution. One important observation is that globular…
Most stars form in highly clustered environments within molecular clouds, but eventually disperse into the distributed stellar field population. Exactly how the stellar distribution evolves from the embedded stage into gas-free associations…
Young stellar groupings and clusters have hierarchical patterns ranging from flocculent spiral arms and star complexes on the largest scale to OB associations, OB subgroups, small loose groups, clusters and cluster subclumps on the smallest…