Modeling Formation of Globular Clusters: Beacons of Galactic Star Formation

Abstract

Modern hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation are able to predict accurately the rates and locations of the assembly of giant molecular clouds in early galaxies. These clouds could host star clusters with the masses and sizes of real globular clusters. I describe current state-of-the-art simulations aimed at understanding the origin of the cluster mass function and metallicity distribution. Metallicity bimodality of globular cluster systems appears to be a natural outcome of hierarchical formation and gradually declining fraction of cold gas in galaxies. Globular cluster formation was most prominent at redshifts z>3, when massive star clusters may have contributed as much as 20% of all galactic star formation.

Proceedings of IAU Symposium 270, Computational Star Formation, Barcelona, June 2010

References in corpus (3)

• The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. IX. Horizontal Branch Morphology and the Second Parameter Phenomenon
• The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey XV. The Formation Efficiencies of Globular Clusters in Early-Type Galaxies: The Effects of Mass and Environment
• Modeling the Metallicity Distribution of Globular Clusters

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Superbubble dynamics in globular cluster infancy II. Consequences for secondary star formation in the context of self-enrichment via fast rotating massive stars