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Star and cluster formation in extreme environments

Current empirical evidence on the star-formation processes in the extreme, high-pressure environments induced by galaxy encounters (mostly based on high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope observations) strongly suggests that star CLUSTER formation is an important and perhaps even the dominant mode of star formation in such starburst events. The sizes, luminosities, and mass estimates of the young massive star clusters (YMCs) are entirely consistent with what is expected for young Milky Way-type globular clusters (GCs). Recent evidence lends support to the scenario that GCs, which were once thought to be the oldest building blocks of galaxies, are still forming today. Here, I present a novel empirical approach to assess the shape of the initial-to-current YMC mass functions, and hence their possible survival chances for a Hubble time.