The exciting lives of galactic nuclei - Ringberg Castle, Tegernsee, Germany
27 February - 3 March 2017
The characterisation of galactic nuclei provides a unique insight into the formation and evolution of their host galaxies. Recent years have seen a vast increase in high quality observations of the kinematics as well as stellar populations of the centres of nearby galaxies including our own Milky Way. Some of the most massive star clusters in the local universe are believed to be the stripped centres of smaller galaxies and may host black holes like our own Milky Way nuclear star cluster does.
This workshop will bring together an international audience of theorists and observers working in the fields of galaxy nuclei, dense star clusters and their (chemo-)dynamical modelling, to confront state-of-the-art observations with cutting-edge models.
Specific topics include:
Galactic nuclei and their stellar clusters...
- Characterisation: structural, chemical and kinematic properties
- Formation and growth: gas-infall versus cluster-inspiral
- Black hole connection: formation, feeding, and feedback
- Connection to the host galaxy: correlations and co-evolution
- Complex stellar populations: fossil record (earliest) star formation
- Destruction: massive compact stellar systems as stripped nuclei
- Nearby and far away: current and future instrumentation
The workshop will take place at Ringberg Castle, the Max Planck Society's conference site overlooking Lake Tegernsee in the foothills of the Bavarian alps. Further information about the castle and directions to its site can be found at: Schloss Ringberg.