MASSIVE STELLAR CLUSTERS A workshop connecting stellar and extragalactic worlds November 8-10, 1999 Strasbourg

 
• Organisation
• Scientific programme, including the list of posters (postscript)
• Practical information and registration
• Participants
• Instructions and style files for contributions to the proceedings

Star clusters are found in all types of galaxies, going from dwarf irregulars to massive merging systems, from spirals to elliptical galaxies. They are of interest to various astrophysical research fields, including stellar astrophysics, stellar dynamics and the evolution of galaxies.

The emphasis of the workshop will be set on the use of massive stellar clusters with the purpose of testing stellar evolution theories, and on the interplay between stellar and cluster evolution.

Whoever has been implied in empirical studies of so-called "simple stellar populations" knows that it is not that easy to select clusters appropriate for a particular aspect of stellar evolution. Questions arise like:
-- where can one find clusters of the right age ?
-- can one find clusters massive enough to limit statistical fluctuations due to small numbers of luminous stars ?
-- are stellar population studies appropriate in clusters? (crowding, mass segregation, ...)
-- do the appropriate instruments exist ?
Massive clusters are known to form in interacting galaxies, but do they survive? Long enough, for instance, for us to find massive clusters with large Asymptotic Giant Branch populations? Do they merge and become larger, less obvious but still bound entities, that could also be used as "simple stellar populations" for stellar evolution tests? What is the connection between the young cluster distributions in actively star forming galaxies and the old cluster distributions of galaxies like ours?

Most of these questions can only be answered with combined information on stellar evolution, star populations and dynamics. The workshop will provide an opportunity for interaction between these astrophysical communities. Observational perspectives will also be considered, keeping in mind that the same data may sometimes be useful for several specific studies.

Questions addressed or raised during the workshop are expected to trigger new scientific developments, that could be presented and discussed further at the proposed IAU Symposium on "Extragalactic Star Clusters" recently announced by D.Geisler (U.Concepcion) and E.Grebel (U.Washington) for January or March 2001 (questions regarding the symposium can be addressed to E.Grebel, grebel@betula.astro.washington.edu, or to D.Geisler, doug@stars.cfm.udec.cl).

Previous documents:
Second announcement (May 1999)