The co-formation and evolution of star clusters and their host galaxies

Abstract: Stellar clusters are critical constituents within galaxies. Widely studied in the Local Universe (albeit not understood), stunning observations by the James Webb Space Telescope are revealing the presence of massive star clusters in a variety of galactic environments across cosmic time. These observations raise questions about the formation, interaction and eventual fate of star clusters within galaxies: Does the process of star formation change over cosmic history? How will the energy released by massive stars in the massive star clusters affect the evolution of the galaxy? Can those clusters survive to the present day or will they disrupt into the stellar body of the galaxy? And are bright star clusters good tracers of their environment?

In the first part of my talk I will review current numerical approaches to model the intertwined evolution of star clusters and galaxies, and I will discuss their perks and caveats. I will also present SCALES, a novel method to model clusters built via gas accretion and hierarchical merging with sub-clusters implemented within the hydrodynamical code GIZMO, and I will discuss what physics are required to reproduce the formation of star cluster populations. For the second part of my talk, I will present current and upcoming efforts of expanding our knowledge of star cluster populations in galaxy clusters to earlier cosmic times using JWST/NIRCam imaging, and how can these datasets be used to map the mass distribution in these environments.