2002/10/26 by Patrick Cote, Patrick Côté, Cote, Patrick
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0210582
10 pages, Latex, plus 3 postscript figures. Invited review to appear in the proceedings "New Horizons in Globular Cluster Astronomy", ed. G. Piotto, G. Meylan, G. Djorgovski, M. Riello, ASP Conference series
arxiv created 2002/10/26 · openalex publication_date 2002/10/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
I briefly review models for the formation of globular cluster systems, and summarize the observational properties (i.e., formation efficiencies, metallicity distributions, kinematics and ages) of the globular cluster systems of M87 and M49: two thoroughly studied elliptical galaxies. Many of the properties of the metal-poor clusters in these and other galaxies appear to be consistent with their formation in low-mass, proto-galactic fragments, as proposed by several different formation models. A number of outstanding questions concerning the formation of the metal-rich clusters in these galaxies are highlighted.