Related papers: A Probable New Globular Cluster in the Galactic Di…
CONTEXT. The maximum size of the Galactic stellar disk is not yet known. Some studies have suggested an abrupt drop-off of the stellar density of the disk at Galactocentric distances $R\gtrsim 15$ kpc, which means that in practice no disk…
We estimate the mass of the inner ($<20$ kpc) Milky Way and the axis ratio of its dark matter halo using globular clusters as tracers. At the same time, we constrain the phase-space distribution of the globular cluster system. We use the…
We present results from 2MASS JKs photometry on the physical reality of recently reported globular cluster (GC) candidates in the Milky Way (MW) bulge. We relied our analysis on photometric membership probabilities that allowed us to…
In the past few years, several clusters containing large numbers of red supergiants have been discovered. These clusters are amongst the most massive young clusters known in the Milky Way, with stellar masses reaching a few…
Recent investigations of the double red clump in the color-magnitude diagram of the Milky Way bulge cast serious doubts on the structure and formation origin of the outer bulge. Unlike previous interpretation based on an X-shaped bulge,…
Extensive photometric studies of the globular clusters located towards the center of the Milky Way have been historically neglected. The presence of patchy differential reddening in front of these clusters has proven to be a significant…
The dynamical evolution of the globular cluster systems in galaxies is predicted, based on the standard dynamical theory normalized to the example of the Milky Way. The major processes varying with the galactocentric distance are the tidal…
The possible association of Galactic globular clusters with the Sgr Stream is shortly reviewed at the light of the most recent observations of the Stream. >= 20 % of the Galactic globular clusters with R_{GC}>= 10 Kpc are found to lie…
We investigate the ratio between the half-mass radii r_h of Galactic globular clusters and their Jacobi radii r_J given by the potential of the Milky Way and show that clusters with galactocentric distances R_{GC}>8 kpc fall into two…
We report the discovery of three optical open clusters in the Milky Way. Two clusters are in Scutum (Cluster1 at l=18.44 degrees and b=-0.42 degrees, and Cluster2 at l=19.60 degrees and b=-1.02 degrees), thus projected not far from the…
The small group of Galactic Globular Clusters (GGC) (Pal 12, Terzan 7, Ruprecht 106, Arp 2) recently discovered to be significantly younger (by ~3-4 Gyr) than the average cluster population of the Galaxy are shown to lie near planes passing…
The kinematical and spatial properties of the metal-rich globular clusters in the Galaxy ([Fe/H] > -0.8) indicates that these objects do not comprise a homogeneous population. Three subsystems are identified. The highest-mass clusters…
Numerical simulations of a Milky Way-size galaxy demonstrate that globular clusters with the properties similar to observed can form naturally at z > 3 in the concordance Lambda-CDM cosmology. The clusters in our model form in the strongly…
Globular cluster stars evolving off the main sequence are known to lose mass, and it is expected that some of the lost material should remain within the cluster as an intracluster medium (ICM). Most attempts to detect such an ICM have been…
Globular clusters (GCs) are thought to be ancient relics from the early formative phase of galaxies, although their physical origin remains uncertain. GCs are most numerous around massive elliptical galaxies, where they can exhibit a broad…
We are conducting a large program to classify newly discovered Milky Way star cluster candidates from Froebrich et al. (2007). Here we present NIR follow-up observations of FSR0190 (RA=20h05m31.3s, DEC=33deg34'09" J2000). The cluster is…
We present the serendipitous discovery of 195 extragalactic globular clusters (GCs) in one of the deepest optical images ever obtained, a 126 orbit HST/ACS imaging study of the nearby Galactic GC NGC 6397. The distant GCs are all found…
We present results from a study of the distances and distribution of a sample of intermediate-age clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Using deep near-infrared photometry obtained with ISPI on the CTIO 4m, we have measured the apparent…
This article summarizes the structural parameters of the Galactic bulge and disk, and discusses the interpretation of the bulge microlensing observations and the determination of the Milky Way's luminous mass from the terminal velocity…
Globular clusters (GCs) in the Milky Way (MW) bulge are very difficult to study because: i) they suffer from the severe crowding and galactic extinction; which are characteristic of these inner Galactic regions ii) they are more prone to be…