2006/04/03 by M. Catelan, Catelan, M.
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0604035
4 pages, 3 figures. Invited review, XIth IAU Regional Meeting (Dec. 2005, Pucon, Chile), to appear in RMxAA
arxiv created 2006/04/03 · openalex publication_date 2006/04/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The importance of horizontal branch and RR Lyrae stars is discussed in the context of cosmological arguments for the formation of the Galactic halo and its satellite dwarf galaxies. It is shown, in particular, that the Galactic halo globular cluster system cannot have formed from the accretion of ``protogalactic fragments'' resembling the very early counterparts of the present-day dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, or else its RR Lyrae properties would be very different from what is currently observed.