How Did Globular Clusters Form?

Abstract

It is suggested that there have been at least two physically distinct epochs of massive cluster formation. The first generation of globular clusters may have formed as halo gas was compressed by shocks driven inward by ionization fronts generated during cosmic reionization at z ~ 6. On the other hand a second generation of massive clusters might have been formed at later times by compression, and subsequent collapse, of giant molecular clouds. In some cases this compression may have been triggered by heating of the interstellar medium via collisions between gas-rich disk galaxies. It is also suggested that the present specific globular cluster frequency in galaxies was mainly determined by the peak rate of star creation, with elevated peak rates of star formation per unit area resulting in high present specific globular cluster frequencies.