Related papers: Age dating old globular clusters in early-type gal…
This paper is the second of a series that investigates the stochasticity and degeneracy problems that hinder the derivation of the age, mass, extinction, and metallicity of unresolved star clusters in external galaxies when broad-band…
The well-known age-metallicity-attenuation degeneracy does not permit unique and good estimates of basic parameters of stars and stellar populations. The effects of dust can be avoided using spectral line indices, but current methods have…
We built modelled spectra of stellar population at high resolution and with variable alpha-elements enhancements. Analysing spectra of Galactic globular clusters we show that it is possible to derive reliably and efficiently [Mg/Fe] using…
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…
We present a statistical approach for estimating the age of Globular Clusters by measurement of the likelihood between the observed cluster sequences in the Colour--Magnitude Diagram and the synthetic cluster sequences computed from stellar…
Nine presently known "young" Galactic globular clusters, which have ages / 3 Gyr smaller than the oldest clusters of similar metallicity, all have RGC > 15 kpc. Furthermore these young globulars are found to have below-average luminosities.…
One of the largest sources of uncertainty in the computation of globular cluster isochrones and hence in the age determination of globular clusters is the lack of a rigorous description of convection. Therefore, we calibrated the…
We demonstrate a significant (> 5-sigma) correlation between the mean color of metal-poor globular cluster (GC) systems and parent galaxy luminosity. A Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method is introduced to find the mean color, and is…
We have constrained the age of the globular cluster S312 in the Andromeda galaxy (M31) by comparing its multicolor photometry with theoretical stellar population synthesis models. This is both a check on the age of this globular cluster, as…
We present a high-resolution simulation of globular cluster formation in a galaxy merger. For the first time in such a simulation, individual star clusters are directly identified and followed on their orbits. We quantitatively compare star…
The age of three of the oldest clusters -- M15, M68, M92 -- has been redetermined. We use the latest EOS and opacity data available for calculating both isochrones and zero age horizontal branches and employ the brightness difference…
The global properties of all known Galactic globular clusters are examined. The relationship between the luminosities and the metallicities of Galactic globular clusters is found to be complex. Among luminous clusters there is a correlation…
In Galactic studies a distinction is made between (open) star clusters and associations. For barely resolved objects at a distance of several Mpc this distinction is not trivial to make. Here we provide an objective definition by comparing…
Several population synthesis models now predict integrated colors of simple stellar populations in the mid-infrared bands. To date, the models have not been extensively tested in this wavelength range. In a comparison of the predictions of…
Stellar population models are commonly calculated using star clusters as calibrators for those evolutionary stages that depend on free parameters. However, discrepancies exist among different models, even if similar sets of calibration…
Currently there are two main techniques for independently determining the ages of stellar populations: main sequence evolution theory (via cluster isochrones) and white dwarf cooling theory. Open clusters provide the ideal environment for…
In this paper we study the properties of ten halo globular clusters in the nearby spiral galaxy M33. CCD images of M33 were obtained as a part of the BATC Colour Survey of the sky in 13 intermediate-band filters from 3800 to 10000{\AA}. By…
We derive new spectral H_gamma index definitions which are robust age indicators for old and relatively old stellar populations and thus have great potential for solving the age-metallicity degeneracy of galaxy spectra. To study H_gamma as…
The tightness of the observed colour-magnitude and Mg$_{2}$- velocity dispersion relations for elliptical galaxies has often been cited as an argument against a picture in which ellipticals form by the merging of spiral disks. A common view…
We present accurate integrated-light photometry in Johnson/Cousins V, R, and I for a sample of 28 globular clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. The majority of the clusters in our sample have reliable age and metallicity estimates available…