English

The Formation of Globular Cluster Systems

Astrophysics 2007-05-23 v1

Abstract

I briefly review models for the formation of globular cluster systems, and summarize the observational properties (i.e., formation efficiencies, metallicity distributions, kinematics and ages) of the globular cluster systems of M87 and M49: two thoroughly studied elliptical galaxies. Many of the properties of the metal-poor clusters in these and other galaxies appear to be consistent with their formation in low-mass, proto-galactic fragments, as proposed by several different formation models. A number of outstanding questions concerning the formation of the metal-rich clusters in these galaxies are highlighted.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0210582,
  title  = {The Formation of Globular Cluster Systems},
  author = {Patrick Cote},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0210582},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

10 pages, Latex, plus 3 postscript figures. Invited review to appear in the proceedings "New Horizons in Globular Cluster Astronomy", ed. G. Piotto, G. Meylan, G. Djorgovski, M. Riello, ASP Conference series

R2 v1 2026-07-22T08:16:25.873Z