Related papers: Finite Mass Isothermal Spheres and the Structure o…
We perform a systematic combined photometric and kinematic analysis of a sample of globular clusters under different relaxation conditions, based on their core relaxation time (as listed in available catalogs), by means of two well-known…
Spherical models of collisionless but quasi-relaxed stellar systems have long been studied as a natural framework for the description of globular clusters. Here we consider the construction of self-consistent models under the same physical…
The isothermal dynamical evolution of a clumpy and turbulent molecular cloud region and its fragmentation into a protostellar cluster is investigated numerically. The effect of different initial density and velocity distributions, generated…
[abridged] We present a unified picture for the evolution of star clusters on the two-body relaxation timescale. We use direct N-body simulations of star clusters in a galactic tidal field starting from different multi-mass King models, up…
The dynamics of inelastic hard spheres is described in terms of the binary collision expansion, yielding the corresponding pseudo-Liouville equation and BBGKY hierarchy for the reduced distribution functions. Based on cluster expansion…
We discuss the possibility to analyze the problem of gravothermal catastrophe in a new way, by obtaining thermodynamical equations to apply to a selfgravitating system. By using the King distribution function in the framework of statistical…
Globular clusters are stellar dynamical systems which evolve on stellar evolutionary and both internal and external dynamical timescales. Quantitative comparison of cluster properties with realistic evolutionary dynamical models is becoming…
The isothermal gravitational collapse and fragmentation of a molecular cloud region and the subsequent formation of a protostellar cluster is investigated numerically. The clump mass spectrum which forms during the fragmentation phase can…
This review discusses (i) dynamical methods for determining the masses of Galactic and extragalactic star clusters, (ii) dynamical processes and their time-scales for the evolution of clusters, including evaporation, mass segregation, core…
We investigate the evolutionary nexus between the morphology and internal kinematics of the central regions of collisional, rotating, multi-mass stellar systems, with special attention to the spatial characterisation of the process of mass…
A new kinetic model of globular clusters based on a modified velocities distribution function is compared to the most often used King's model. A hypothetical contribution of dark matter is considered.
Globular cluster systems provide valuable fossil records of the formation history of their parent galaxies. This review specifically concentrates on using color distributions of the globular cluster systems of elliptical galaxies to…
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…
We investigate the internal dynamics of anisotropic, rotating globular clusters with a multimass stellar population by performing new direct N-body simulations. In addition to the well-known radial mass segregation effect, where heavy stars…
Galactic globular clusters, which are ancient building blocks of our Galaxy, represent a very interesting family of stellar systems in which some fundamental dynamical processes have taken place on time scales shorter than the age of the…
The isothermal gravitational collapse and fragmentation of a region within a molecular cloud and the subsequent formation of a protostellar cluster is investigated numerically. The clump mass spectrum which forms during the fragmentation…
We review recent work that investigates the formation of stellar clusters, ranging in scale from globular clusters through open clusters to the small scale aggregates of stars observed in T associations. In all cases, recent advances in…
Star clusters in isothermal spheres are studied from a thermodynamic point of view. New density profiles are presented, that describe the collapsed phase at low temperatures. At the transition a set of binaries is formed that carries 13 %…
The basic ingredients of models for the internal dynamics of globular clusters are reviewed, with an emphasis on the description of equilibrium configurations. The development of progressive complexity in the models is traced, concentrating…
A physical description of the fundamental plane of Galactic globular clusters is developed which explains all empirical trends and correlations in a large number of cluster observables and provides a small but complete set of truly…