Related papers: The Internal Dynamics of Globular Clusters
The interpretation of the difference observed between the radial distribution of globular clusters and that of halo-bulge stars in elliptical galaxies is discussed in terms of evolution of their globular cluster systems. I present a short…
It appears that the dynamical status of clusters and groups of galaxies is related to the large-scale structure of the Universe. A few interesting trends have been established: (1) The Cluster Substructure - Alignment Connection, by which…
Star clusters are fundamental building blocks of galaxies. Their formation is related to the density and pressure in progenitor molecular clouds and their environmental conditions. To understand better the dynamical processes driving star…
We investigate the properties and evolution of star particles in two simulations of isolated spiral galaxies, and two galaxies from cosmological simulations. Unlike previous numerical work, where typically each star particle represents one…
Star clusters stand at the intersection of much of modern astrophysics: the interstellar medium, gravitational dynamics, stellar evolution, and cosmology. Here we review observations and theoretical models for the formation, evolution, and…
Though it is generally assumed that massive molecular clouds are the progenitors of globular clusters, their detailed formation mechanism is still unclear. Standard scenarios based on the collapse of a smooth matter distribution suffer from…
Utilizing a series of N-body simulations, we argue that gravitationally bound stellar clusters of modest population evolve very differently from the picture presented by classical dynamical relaxation theory. The system's most massive stars…
I review the field of globular cluster system (GCS) kinematics, including a brief primer on observational methods. The kinematical structures of spiral galaxy GCSs so far appear to be broadly similar. The inferred rotation and mass profiles…
Upon their formation, dynamically cool (collapsing) star clusters will, within only a few million years, achieve stellar mass segregation for stars down to a few solar masses, simply because of gravitational two-body encounters. Since…
Large self-gravitating stellar systems share with correlated liquids in condensed matter physics a pattern of hierarchical density variations. While it takes the microscopic time resolution to discern the correlated dynamics of the critical…
Populations of young star clusters show significant differences even among "normal" disk galaxies. In this contribution I discuss how properties of young cluster systems are related to those of their host galaxies, based on a recent study…
The properties of old globular cluster systems in galaxy halos are used to infer quantitative constraints on aspects of generic star (cluster) formation. First, the spatial distribution of globulars in three large galaxies, together with…
Ages are key to truly understand a large plethora of astrophysical phenomena. On the other hand, stellar clusters are open windows to understand stellar evolution, specifically, the change with time and mass of different stellar properties.…
Globular clusters are found usually in galaxies and they are an excellent tracer of dark matter. Long ago it was suggested that there may exist intracluster globular clusters (IGCs) bound to a galaxy cluster rather than to any single…
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…
Nuclear star clusters are among the densest stellar systems known and are common in both early- and late-type galaxies. They exhibit scaling relations with their host galaxy which may be related to those of supermassive black holes. These…
Globular clusters (GCs) act as massive probe particles traversing the dark matter halos of their host galaxies. Gravitational dynamical friction due to halo particles causes GC orbits to contract over time, providing a beyond-mean field…
Interacting galaxies favor the formation of star clusters but are also suspected to affect their evolution through an intense and rapidly varying tidal field. Treating this complex behaviour remains out-of-reach of (semi-)analytical…
Stars in star clusters are thought to form in a single burst from a common progenitor cloud of molecular gas. However, massive, old globular clusters -- with ages greater than 10 billion years and masses of several hundred thousand solar…
Globular Clusters (GCs) and Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) are typically composed by several stellar populations, characterized by different chemical compositions. Different populations show different ages in NSCs but not necessarily in GCs.…