Revealing the secrets of star-forming galaxies through studies of young stellar clusters

Abstract by Angela Adamo
Star formation, the process that converts gas in stars, is a key mechanism regulating the galaxy evolution process. It is thought that the vast majority of stars in galaxies are formed in clustered systems. A fraction of these systems survive gravitationally bound as star clusters, making them bright tracers of their host galaxy properties. The physical properties of clusters retain key information about the nature of the star formation event (i.e. its intensity), the environment, and the physical condition of their hosts at the moment they formed. In the first part of the talk, I will present some recent results based on studies of star clusters in irregular starburst galaxies, the so-called blue compact galaxies (BCGs). I will mainly focus on the properties of the very young star clusters (age smaller than 10 Myr), and how cluster properties scale with the global properties of their hosts (e.g. star formation rate). In the second part, I will present some highlights of the Snapshot Hubble U-band Cluster Survey (SHUCS), an ongoing deep U-band imaging survey of nearby star-forming galaxies. Thanks to the information provided by the U band, together with archival HST optical data, we are able to constrain reliable ages, masses, and extinctions of the cluster populations in these galaxies. I will show some preliminary results from the study of one of the SHUCS galaxies, NGC 2146. From the cluster properties, we can reconstruct the starburst propagation history in the different galaxy components and understand how diverse galactic environments affect cluster formation.

Background Papers
"Super star clusters in Haro 11: properties of a very young starburst and evidence for a near-infrared flux excess", Adamo, A., et al. 2010a

"On the Origin of the Red Excess in Very Young Super Star Clusters: The Case of SBS 0335-052E", Adamo, A., et al. 2010b,

"The massive star clusters in the dwarf merger ESO 185-IG13: is the red excess ubiquitous in starbursts?", Adamo, A., et al. 2011a

"Star cluster formation and evolution in Mrk 930: properties of a metal-poor starburst", Adamo, A, et al. 2011b

"Probing cluster formation under extreme conditions: massive star clusters in blue compact galaxies", Adamo, A., et al. 2011c

"Probing the near-IR flux excess in young star clusters", Adamo, A., Ostlin, G., & Zackrisson, E. 2011d

Talk Slides
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