Omega Centauri: The Nearest Galaxy Nucleus

Abstract: Galaxy centers are extremal environments that frequently host supermassive black holes and uniquely dense and massive star clusters.  In my talk I will focus on our understanding of these objects and their formation through the lens of our nearest galaxy nucleus, the star cluster Omega Centauri.  Omega Centauri is the most massive star cluster in the Milky Way, and there is strong evidence it was once the nucleus of a dwarf galaxy that fell into the Milky Way.  The ongoing oMEGACat survey has revealed several exciting new results on Omega Cen this year, including the presence of an intermediate mass black hole at the cluster center (Haeberle et al. 2024), and the best measurement of the cluster’s star formation history (Clontz et al. 2024).  These results help us understand the formation of nuclear star clusters and provide important clues on the formation of supermassive black holes.