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Globular Clusters - Guides to Galaxies |
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Historical context: The apparently simple fact that stars tend to form in groups rather than in isolation reflects the first (and largest) step of a huge hierarchical structure which ranges from stars to superclusters of galaxies. The most massive stellar groups we call "globular clusters". On many occasions globular clusters played a key role in the progress of astronomy. They were the first standard candles for probing the dimensions of the Milky Way, they led to the concept of stellar populations, and the analysis of their stellar content was a main driver for the theory of stellar evolution. As the most obvious constituents of the Galactic halo, they led to an accurate picture of Galactic structure and evolution. Stellar dynamics cannot be thought of without globular clusters. The agreement between the expansion age of the Universe and the ages of globular clusters was the first convincing claim in cosmology. Moreover, generations of astronomers and non-astronomers alike have been amazed by the beauty of M13 and Omega Centauri with unmeasurable but important consequences for astronomy. For a long time globular clusters were thought to exclusively be survivors from the early days of the Universe. The finding that the Magellanic Clouds host globular cluster-like objects but with ages much younger than the Galactic ones was an irritating incongruity at the time. Today we know that the formation of globular clusters still occurs in various star forming environments, the most spectacular ones being mergers of galaxies. With the Hubble space telescope and the advent of large ground-based telescopes, new windows have opened, allowing for new and fruitful incongruities. Because of their brightness, globular clusters are identifiable out to large extragalactic distances. Consequently, systems of globular clusters, their systemic properties and their relation to their host galaxies have evolved to a central issue in globular cluster research.
Conference aims: The principal question of whether and how globular clusters can lead to a better understanding of galaxy formation and evolution is perhaps the main driving force behind the overall endeavour of studying globular cluster systems. Naturally, this disperses into many individual problems. The objective of our conference is to bring together researchers, both observational and theoretical, to present and discuss the most recent results. Topics to be covered are: internal dynamics of globular clusters and interaction with host galaxies (tidal tails, evolution of cluster masses), accretion of globular clusters, detailed descriptions of nearby cluster systems, ultracompact dwarfs, formations of massive clusters in mergers and elsewehere, the ACS Virgo survey, galaxy formation and globular clusters, dynamics and kinematics of globular cluster systems, and dark matter related problems.
Scientific Organizing Committee:
M. E. Barraza, D. Geisler, M.
Gómez, A. Romanowsky
Contact: gcgg@astro-udec.cl
Last Updated: June 7,
2005