Related papers: Issues in the Formation of Globular Cluster System…
We investigate the spatial, kinematic and chemical properties of globular cluster systems formed in merging and interacting galaxies using N-body/SPH simulations. Although we can not resolve individual clusters in our simulation, we assume…
New and archival HST images of the globular cluster systems of 17 relatively nearby galaxies and 6 more distant galaxies have been used to establish the characteristics of GC subpopulations over a range of host galaxy morphological type…
Globular clusters are collisional systems, meaning that the stars inside them interact on timescales much shorter than the age of the Universe. These frequent interactions transfer energy between stars and set up observable trends that tell…
The origin of metal-rich, highly flattened, and rapidly rotating disk globular cluster system in the Galaxy is one of longstanding issues in the context of the Galaxy formation. Our numerical simulations suggest a new ``two-fold'' scenario…
Globular cluster systems evolve, in galaxies, due to internal and external dynamics and tidal phenomena. One of the causes of evolution, dynamical friction, is responsible for the orbital decay of massive clusters into the innermost…
Globular clusters (GCs) provide one way of determining when the most important periods of star formation in dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies occurred. Thus, they are also useful for comparing the star formation histories of dwarf and giant…
Globular clusters (GCs), the oldest stellar systems observed in the Milky Way, have for long been considered single stellar populations. As such, they provided an ideal laboratory to understand stellar dynamics and primordial star formation…
Rich clusters of galaxies, the largest virialized systems known, provide a powerful tool for the study of cosmology. Some of the fundamental questions that can be addressed with clusters of galaxies include: how did galaxies and large-scale…
The QCD phase transition in the early universe may provide primordial black hole nuclei for globular clusters. We consider the accretion and star formation that follow, once 1000 solar mass nuclei have formed. When such a nucleus has…
I present the latest results from our group about the multiple stellar populations in the old Milky Way globular clusters (GCs) and in the young systems both in the Magellanic Clouds and in the Milky Way. For the ancient GCs in our Galaxy I…
New VRI photometry is presented for the globular clusters in the innermost 140'' of the M87 halo. The results are used to discuss several issues concerning the formation and evolution of globular cluster systems in supergiant ellipticals…
Globular clusters are among the oldest structures in the Universe and they host today low-mass stars and no gas. However, there has been a time when they formed as gaseous objects hosting a large number of short-lived, massive stars. Many…
The formation of globular clusters (GCs) remains one of the main unsolved problems in star and galaxy formation. The past decades have seen important progress in constraining the physics of GC formation from a variety of directions. In this…
(Abridged) We investigate the hypothesis that some fraction of the globular clusters presently observed in the Galactic halo formed in external dwarf galaxies, by means of a detailed comparison between Zinn's "old halo", "young halo", and…
The origin and formation of globular clusters has remained a mystery. We present a formation scenario for ancient globular cluster-like objects that form in ultra-high resolution simulations (smallest cell size $<0.1\,\mathrm{pc}$, mass…
Nuclear Star Clusters are observed at the center of many galaxies. In particular in the center of the Milky Way the Nuclear Star Cluster coexists with a cen- tral supermassive black hole. The origin of these clusters is still unknown; a…
Star cluster formation is a major mode of star formation in the extreme conditions of interacting galaxies and violent starbursts. Young clusters are observed to form in a variety of such galaxies, a substantial number resembling the…
We present new constraints on the initial mass spectrum of the Galactic Old Halo globular clusters. This has remained poorly-known so far, as both an initial power-law mass spectrum and an initial lognormal mass function could have evolved…
Variations in the number of globular clusters per unit galaxy luminosity, which is the specific frequency, and the mass of globular clusters per unit total available mass, are reviewed. Correlations with galaxy luminosity and morphology,…
In this paper I present some recent and new results regarding the effects of the cluster environment on the star formation history of galaxies. Three main aspects are discussed: the differences in the stellar population ages of cluster…