▪ Abstract Stellar clusters are born embedded within giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and
during their formation and early evolution are often only visible at infrared wavelengths …

We review current understanding of star formation, outlining an overall theoretical framework
and the observations that motivate it. A conception of star formation has emerged in which …

A universal initial mass function (IMF) is not intuitive, but so far no convincing evidence for a
variable IMF exists. The detection of systematic variations of the IMF with star-forming …

Context. The distribution of member stars in the surroundings of an open cluster (OC) can
shed light on the process of its formation, evolution, and dissolution. The analysis of …

The enormous radiative and mechanical luminosities of massive stars impact a vast range of
scales and processes, from the reionization of the universe, to the evolution of galaxies, to …

Understanding the formation of stars in galaxies is central to much of modern astrophysics.
However, a quantitative prediction of the star formation rate and the initial distribution of …

Whether the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is universal or is instead sensitive to
environmental conditions is of critical importance: The IMF influences most observable …

Although fundamental for astrophysics, the processes that produce massive stars are not
well understood. Large distances, high extinction, and short timescales of critical …

This book discusses in detail all the relevant numerical methods for the classical N-body
problem. It demonstrates how to develop clear and elegant algorithms for models of …

Observations indicate that massive stars in the Galaxy form in regions of very high surface
density, Σ∼ 1 g cm-2. Clusters containing massive stars and globular clusters have a …