Star clusters as diaries of galaxies
arXiv:0706.1447
Abstract
Most if not all stars form in star clusters. Thus the distribution of star clusters preserves the information on the star formation history of a galaxy. Massive clusters form only during episodes of high star formation activity whereas periods of low star formation activity cannot produce them. We present here the method of Maschberger & Kroupa (2007) to derive the star formation history of a galaxy from its star-cluster content.
2 pages, 2 figures, To be published in the proceedings of "Pathways Through an Eclectic Universe", Tenerife, April 23-27, 2007, ed. T. Mahoney, A. Vazdekis, and J. Knapen