Nuclear star clusters and bulges

Abstract

Nuclear star clusters are among the densest stellar systems known and are common in both early- and late-type galaxies. They exhibit scaling relations with their host galaxy which may be related to those of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). These may therefore help us to unravel the complex physical processes occurring at the centers of galaxies. The properties of nuclear stellar systems suggest that their formation requires both dissipational and dissipationless processes. They have stellar populations of different ages, from stars as old as their host galaxy to young stars formed in the last 100 Myr. Therefore star formation must be happening either directly in the nuclear star cluster or in its vicinity. The secular processes that fuel the formation of pseudobulges very likely also contribute to nuclear star cluster growth.