Compact Objects in Globular Clusters

Abstract

It is now widely established that globular clusters host robust populations of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes throughout their lifetimes. Within clusters, dynamical processes enabled by stellar densities thousands to millions of times larger than typical galactic environments facilitate interactions involving these stellar remnants that give rise to an array of astrophysical phenomena. In particular, stellar clusters have emerged as an important formation site for X-ray sources, radio pulsars, and merging black hole binaries similar to those recently detected as gravitational wave sources by the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA detectors. This article reviews our current understanding of compact objects in globular clusters, discussing current observational evidence, ways these objects influence the dynamical evolution of their hosts, and future prospects.