Connections between star cluster populations and their host galaxy
  nuclear rings
  Nuclear rings are excellent laboratories for probing diverse phenomena such
as the formation and evolution of young massive star clusters (YMCs), nuclear
starbursts, as well as the secular evolution and dynamics of their host
galaxies. We have compiled a sample of 17 galaxies with nuclear rings, which
are well resolved by high-resolution {\sl Hubble} and {\sl Spitzer Space
Telescope} imaging. For each nuclear ring, we identified the ring star cluster
population, along with their physical properties (ages, masses, extinction
values). We also determined the integrated ring properties, including the
average age, total stellar mass, and current star-formation rate (SFR). We find
that Sb-type galaxies tend to have the highest ring stellar mass fraction with
respect to the host galaxy, and this parameter is correlated with the ring's
SFR surface density. The ring SFRs are correlated with their stellar masses,
which is reminiscent of the main sequence of star-forming galaxies. There are
striking correlations between star-forming properties (i.e., SFR and SFR
surface density) and non-axisymmetric bar parameters, appearing to confirm
previous inferences that strongly barred galaxies tend to have lower ring SFRs,
although the ring star-formation histories turn out to be significantly more
complicated. Nuclear rings with higher stellar masses tend to be associated
with lower cluster mass fractions, but there is no such relation with the ages
of the rings. The two youngest nuclear rings in our sample, NGC 1512 and NGC
4314, which have the most extreme physical properties, represent the young
extremity of the nuclear ring age distribution.
