The formation of compact dwarf ellipticals through merging star clusters
  In the last decades, extended old stellar clusters have been observed. These
extended objects cover a large range in masses, from extended clusters or faint
fuzzies to ultra compact dwarf galaxies. It has been demonstrated that these
extended objects can be the result of the merging of star clusters in cluster
complexes (small regions in which dozens to hundreds of star clusters form).
This formation channel is called the `Merging Star Cluster Scenario'. This work
tries to explain the formation of compact ellipticals in the same theoretical
framework. Compact ellipticals are a comparatively rare class of spheroidal
galaxies, possessing very small effective radii and high central surface
brightnesses. With the use of numerical simulations we show that the merging
star cluster scenario, adopted for higher masses, as found with those galaxies,
can reproduce all major characteristics and the dynamics of these objects. This
opens up a new formation channel to explain the existence of compact elliptical
galaxies.
