The Complex Lives of Star Clusters
As with the author’s recent books Extreme Explosions and Under a Crimson Sun, the complex topic of star clusters is broken down and made accessible with clear links to other areas of astronomy in a language which the non-specialist can easily read and enj
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The Complex Lives of Star Clusters
Astronomers’ Universe
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/6960
David Stevenson
The Complex Lives of Star Clusters
David Stevenson Sherwood, UK
ISSN 1614-659X ISSN 2197-6651 (electronic) Astronomers’ Universe ISBN 978-3-319-14233-3 ISBN 978-3-319-14234-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-14234-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015936043 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover photo of the Orion Nebula M42 courtesy of NASA Spitzer Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
For my late mother, Margaret Weir Smith Stevenson
Preface
Stars are fairly social beasts. They are mostly born in extended, open families and then stay together for most of their childhood. Low and intermediate mass stars tend to wander with increasing time, but many stars stay with their siblings right through to the moments they die. Of the types of relationships stars are born into, some are very tight and others much more relaxed. The densest associations are globular clusters, while the loosest are stellar associations. For some considerable time, it was thought that these stellar groupings were distinct. However, as further evidence has come to light, it has become clear that the boundaries between these cluster groupings and the smallest dwarf galaxies have become blurred. Meanwhile, new types of clusters have emerged as technology has improved and more observations have been carried out. This book documents many of these discoveries, as well as new findings about the structure, origin and evolution of star clusters. For example, globular clusters were once thought to host a single population of stars. However, many appear to hold two or more generations of stars. How exactly is this possible, given the apparen
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