A Missing Link in Galaxy Evolution: The Mysteries of Dissolving Star Clusters

Abstract

Assuming that most stars form in clusters (Lada & Lada 2003), one might initially expect to find most massive stars in stellar clusters and to detect most of the UV emission in young compact stellar clusters. However, Meurer et al. (1995) showed that in starburst galaxies only 20% of the UV emission at 2200Å is detected in clusters while 80% is diffuse emission from sources in the inter-cluster medium. This phenomenon is also observed for normal galaxies (Hoopes et al. 2001).