Related papers: Explaining the Color Distributions of Globular Clu…
The most massive elliptical galaxies show a prominent multi-modality in their globular cluster system color distributions. Understanding the mechanisms which lead to multiple globular cluster sub-populations is essential for a complete…
The globular cluster (GC) systems of many galaxies reveal bimodal optical color distributions. Based on stellar evolutionary models and the bimodal colors and metallicities of Galactic GCs this is thought to reflect an underlying bimodal…
Globular cluster systems in most large galaxies display bimodal color and metallicity distributions, which are frequently interpreted as indicating two distinct modes of cluster formation. The metal-rich (red) and metal-poor (blue) clusters…
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 clusters are valuable fossil records of the formation and evolution of their host galaxies. The color distribution of elliptical galaxy globular cluster systems indicates an episodic formation history, consistent with a merger…
The optical colors of globular clusters (GCs) in most large early-type galaxies are bimodal. Blue and red GCs show a sharp difference in the radial profile of their surface number density in the sense that red GCs are more centrally…
Globular cluster systems provide valuable fossil records of the formation history of their parent galaxies. This review specifically concentrates on using color distributions of the globular cluster systems of elliptical galaxies to…
Without the interference of a number of events, galaxies may suffer in crowded environments (e.g., stripping, harassment, strangulation); isolated elliptical galaxies provide a control sample for the study of galaxy formation. We present…
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.…
Various galaxy properties are not continuous over a large range in mass, but rather reveal a remarkable transition or `bimodality' at a stellar mass of 3 x 10^{10} Mo. These properties include colors, stellar populations, Xray emission and…
The formation of populous secondary star cluster systems is a widespread phenomenon in mergers of gas-rich galaxies. Many, if not most, of those clusters are massive and compact enough to be young globular clusters (GCs). GC systems in most…
Some factors connecting the evolutionary histories of galaxies with the characteristics of their cluster systems are reviewed. Unanswered questions include: How is one to understand the observation that some globular cluster systems have…
Bimodality is a common feature of globular cluster (GC) color distributions in galaxies. Although it is well known that the GC system of the Milky Way is bimodal in metallicity, this has yet to be directly demonstrated for an elliptical…
This paper addresses the questions of what we have learned about how and when dense star clusters form, and what studies of star clusters have revealed about galaxy formation and evolution. One important observation is that globular…
The color distributions of globular clusters (GCs) in individual early-type galaxies show great diversity in their morphology. Based on the conventional "linear" relationship between the colors and metallicities of GCs, the GC metallicity…
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…
Globular cluster systems (GCS) frequently show a bi-modal distribution of the cluster integrated colours. This work explores the arguments to support the idea that the same feature is shared by the diffuse stellar population of the galaxy…
A brief overview of the properties of massive star clusters in early-type galaxies is given. All ellipticals (with only one known exception) host massive star clusters in the form of globular clusters, suggesting that their formation is…
The bimodal globular cluster (GC) metallicity distributions of many giant elliptical galaxies are often cited as evidence for the formation of such galaxies through mergers involving gas-rich spirals. In such models, the metal- rich GCs are…
We present new (B,I) photometry for the globular cluster systems in eight Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs), obtained with the ACS/WFC camera on the Hubble Space Telescope. In the very rich cluster systems that reside within these giant…