Related papers: The Multiplicity of Main Sequence Turnoffs in Glob…
Abundance ratios of carbon, nitrogen and strontium relative to iron, calculated using spectrum synthesis techniques, are given for a sample of main sequence and turnoff stars that belong to the globular cluster omega Centauri. The…
Many intermediate age star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds present multiple main sequence turn-offs (MMSTO), which challenge the classical idea that star formation in such objects took place over short timescales. It has been recently…
We present a model for the concurrent formation of globular clusters (GCs) and supermassive stars (SMSs, $>10^3\,{\rm M}_\odot$) to address the origin of the HeCNONaMgAl abundance anomalies in GCs. GCs form in converging gas flows and…
Two recent empirical developments in the study of extragalactic globular cluster (GC) populations are the color-magnitude relation of the blue GCs (the "blue tilt") and the nonlinearity of the dependence of optical GC colors on metallicity.…
Color gradients in early-type galaxies contain valuable clues about their formation and evolutionary histories and mechanisms. We examine color gradients in 1,700 early-type galaxies in 159 galaxy clusters spanning a redshift range of 0.05…
This work aims to analyze some of the polluters proposed in the self-enrichment scenarios put forward to explain the multiple populations in globular clusters (GCs), extending previous studies. Three scenarios with different polluter stars…
Galactic globular cluster (GC) stars exhibit abundance patterns which are not shared by their field counterparts, In the framework of the widely accepted "self-enrichment" scenario for GCs, we present a new method to derive the Initial Mass…
In the past decade, the notion that globular clusters (GCs) are composed of coeval stars with homogeneous initial chemical compositions has been challenged by growing evidence that they host an intricate stellar population mix, likely…
Context: We present the physical and chemical properties of intermediate-mass stars models of low metallicity, evolved along the thermal pulse phase. Aims: The target of this work is to extend to low metallicities, Z=1,2 and 6 x 10^{-4},…
It is becoming clear that `self--pollution' by the ejecta of massive asymptotic giant branch stars has an important role in the early chemical evolution of globular cluster stars, producing CNO abundance spreads which are observed also at…
Inspection of the CM diagrams of globular clusters having similar heavy element content shows that the luminosity of the red giant bump relative to the turnoff (Delta V_{TO}^{bump}) differs by more than 0.1 mag between clusters with…
A number of scenarios have been put forward to explain the origin of the chemical anomalies (and resulting complex colour-magnitude diagrams) observed in globular clusters (GCs), namely the AGB, Fast Rotating Massive Star, Very Massive…
The Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope has been used to obtain deep, high-resolution images of the intermediate-age star cluster NGC 1846 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We present new color-magnitude diagrams…
We have investigated the formation of globular cluster (GC) systems in the fiducial semi-analytic galaxy formation model of Cole et al. We assume that GCs are formed at high-redshift (z > 5) in proto-galactic fragments, and during the…
Observed metallicities of globular clusters reflect physical conditions in the interstellar medium of their high-redshift host galaxies. Globular cluster systems in most large galaxies display bimodal color and metallicity distributions,…
Globular cluster (GC) systems have now been studied in galaxies ranging from dwarfs to giants and spanning the full Hubble sequence of morphological types. Imaging and spectroscopy with the Hubble Space Telescope and large ground-based…
A common property of globular clusters (GC) is to host multiple populations characterized by peculiar chemical abundances. Recent photometric studies suggest that the He content could vary between the populations of a GC by up to $\Delta$He…
Different types of observations, together with consistent and physical modelizations, suggest as realistic the hypothesis of enrichement of galactic nuclei by mean of massive globular clusters orbitally decayed and merged in the inner…
We discuss constraints on the formation of multiple populations in globular clusters (GCs) imposed by their present-day kinematics (velocity dispersion and anisotropy) and spatial distribution. We argue that the observational evidence…
The uncertainties in the modelling of some important inputs of stellar evolution must be taken into account for a correct interpretation, both of the HR diagrams of individual stars, and of the integrated colors, of stellar clusters. After…