Related papers: Star Cluster Demographics. I. A General Framework …
We present new tests for disruption mechanisms of star clusters based on the bivariate mass-age distribution g(M,\tau). In particular, we derive formulae for g(M,\tau) for two idealized models in which the rate of disruption depends on the…
This article reviews some recent studies of the mass, age, and space distributions of star clusters, with a primary focus on the large population of clusters in the interacting Antennae galaxies. Some of the highlights of these studies are…
How stellar clusters disrupt, and over what timescales, is intimately linked with how they form. Here, we review the theory and observations of cluster disruption, both the suggested initial rapid dissolution phase (infant mortality) and…
To first order, the initial cluster luminosity function appears to be universal. This means that the brightest young cluster in a galaxy can be predicted from the total number of young clusters based purely on statistics. This suggests that…
Many embedded star clusters do not evolve into long-lived bound clusters. The most popular explanation for this "infant mortality" of young clusters is the expulsion of natal gas by stellar winds and supernovae, which leaves up to 90% of…
Star clusters are found in all sorts of environments and their formation and evolution is inextricably linked to the star formation process. Their eventual destruction can result from a number of factors at different times, but the process…
We reexamine the age distribution of star clusters in the Antennae in the context of N-body+hydrodynamical simulations of these interacting galaxies. All of the simulations that account for the observed morphology and other properties of…
We determine the age distribution of star clusters in the Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038/9) for two mass-limited samples (M > 3 x 10^4 M_{\odot} and M > 2 x 10^5 M_{\odot}). This is based on integrated broadband UBVI and narrowband H-alpha…
We review the theory and observations of star cluster disruption. The three main phases and corresponding typical timescales of cluster disruption are: I) Infant Mortality (~10^7 yr), II) Stellar Evolution (~10^8 yr) and III) Tidal…
We compare the observed mass functions and age distributions of star clusters in six well-studied galaxies: the Milky Way, Magellanic Clouds, M83, M51, and Antennae. In combination, these distributions span wide ranges of mass and age:…
The physical properties of star cluster populations offer valuable insights into their birth, evolution, and disruption. However, individual stars in clusters beyond the nearest neighbours of the Milky Way are unresolved, forcing analyses…
The age distributions of stellar cluster populations have long been proposed to probe the recent formation history of the host galaxy. However, progress is hampered by the limited understanding of cluster disruption by evaporation and tidal…
We compare the observed bivariate distribution of masses(M) and ages(t) of star clusters in the LMC with the predicted distributions g(M,t) from 3 idealized models for the disruption of star clusters: (1)sudden mass-dependent…
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…
(Abridged) The formation and evolution of star cluster populations are related to the galactic environment. Cluster formation is governed by processes acting on galactic scales, and star cluster disruption is driven by the tidal field. In…
The distribution of the number of clusters as a function of mass M and age T suggests that clusters get eroded or dispersed in a regular way over time, such that the cluster number decreases inversely as an approximate power law with T…
We derive and interpret some relations between the luminosity, mass, and age distributions of star clusters, denoted here by phi(L), psi(M), and chi(tau), respectively. Of these, phi(L) is the easiest to determine observationally, whereas…
It is widely accepted that stars do not form in isolation but result from the fragmentation of molecular clouds, which in turn leads to star cluster formation. Over time, clusters dissolve or are destroyed by interactions with molecular…
We present the results of a {\it Hubble Space Telescope} ACS/HRC FUV, ACS/WFC optical study into the cluster populations of a sample of 22 Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey. Through integrated…
The fundamental properties of stellar clusters, such as the age or the total initial mass in stars, are often inferred from population synthesis models. The predicted properties are then used to constrain the physical mechanisms involved in…