Star Clusters Iau S266

Star clusters are important to many areas of astronomy, and as the basic building blocks of galaxies, they can be used as key diagnostic tools within a wide range of disciplines in astrophysics. Star cluster populations are powerful tracers of the formation, assembly and evolutionary history of their parent galaxies. Although their importance has been recognised for decades, only in recent years has this area seen a major investment in time and effort. IAU Symposium 266 consolidates the expertise of leading researchers from a variety of topical subfields in astrophysics, to provide a comprehensive presentation of cutting-edge developments in theory, observations and simulations of star clusters and star cluster systems across a range of sizes and epochs. This volume gives an account of this forefront research, answering fundamental questions that will improve our understanding of numerous related issues and show how this field will take its next major step forward.

Stellar cluster research is in a dynamic state. IAU Symposium 351 (also chosen as MODEST-19, within the 'Modelling and Observing DEnse STellar systems' meeting series) is a compilation of the research presented at the Symposium. It contains highlights of the latest research taking place in many areas, including the formation of stellar clusters at high redshifts, multiple stellar populations within stellar clusters, the dynamical evolution of stellar clusters, and the production of exotic objects such as black holes within stellar clusters. This volume also includes articles on the build up of larger galaxies from smaller galaxies and stellar clusters, and discussions of the latest data from large surveys and from the Gaia satellite. Looking at both the local and the high-redshift universe allows links to be established between the clusters we see today and their progenitors. IAU S351 is an ideal entry point for astronomers new to this research field.

Star clusters and black holes are moving into the focus of high resolution astrophysics, computationally as well as observationally. For the first time, observations in many regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are converging with theoretical modelling and computer simulations. These cosmological and galaxy formation models reach down to the supermassive black hole level and follow their formation and growth in the centres of galaxies, by gas and star accretion. IAU Symposium 312 brings together experts on high resolution observations as well as theoretical modelling and computational simulations, who present their research on star clusters, black holes and their interrelations, and gravitational wave astrophysics. IAU S312 continues the tradition of IAU symposia on stellar dynamics and related areas, allowing interested graduate students and researchers to access the current state of these fields.

IAU Symposium 262 presents reviews on the current understanding of the theories of stellar evolution, galaxy formation and galaxy evolution. It emphasises what we have learned in the past few years from massive surveys covering large portions of the sky (e.g. SDSS, HDF, UDF, GOODS, COSMOS). Several critical aspects of research on stellar populations deserve further effort in order to be brought in tune with other areas of astrophysical research. The next ten years will see the opening of major observatories that will increase the quality and quantity of astronomical data by orders of magnitude. The expected benefits from these instruments for the study of stellar populations are explored. This critical review of state of the art observational and theoretical work will appeal to all those working on stellar populations, from distant galaxies to local resolved galaxies and galactic star clusters.

Massive star clusters are invaluable bridges connecting the interstellar medium, star formation and evolution, the evolution of galaxies, and cosmology. These very complex systems are studied in every wavelength region, from radio to gamma rays, and they are also relevant for gravitational wave detectors. A complete understanding of these systems and of their stellar populations is a challenging task. It requires the exchange of ideas and the collaboration of astrophysicists with observational, theoretical, and numerical expertise in stellar evolution, interstellar matter magnetohydrodynamics, stellar dynamics, the formation and evolution of galaxies, cosmology, multidimensional numerical simulations, N-body simulations, and multi-wavelength high-precision photometry, spectroscopy, and astrometry. IAU Symposium 316 addresses all these varied aspects, with observers, theoreticians, and modellers discussing controversial topics and planning the next steps in the key open areas. This volume is particularly timely as we enter a golden age for observations and numerical multidimensional simulations.