Stellar Abundances in Young and Intermediate Age GCs

Abstract

Globular Cluster (GC) formation seems to be a widespread mode of star formation in extreme starbursts triggered by strong interactions and mergers of massive gas-rich galaxies. We use our detailed chemically consistent evolutionary synthesis models for spiral galaxies to predict stellar abundances and abundance ratios of those second generation GCs as a function of their age or formation redshift. Comparison with observed spectra of young star clusters formed recently in an ongoing intercation (NGC 4038/39) and a merger remnant (NGC 7252) are encouraging. Abundances and abundance ratios (and their respective spreads) among young and intermediate cluster populations and among the red peak GCs of elliptical/S0 galaxies with bimodal GC color distributions are predicted to bear a large amount of information about those clusters' formation processes and environment. Not only the bright young clusters but also representative populations of "old" GCs in E/S0 galaxies are readily accessible to MOS on 10m class telescopes.