Wednesday, April 20, 2011, 11:00 am, Pratt Conference Room
The chemical composition of M31 globular clusters
Dr. Ricardo Schiavon (Gemini)
| Globular clusters are fundamental tracers of the history of formation of galaxies. Knowledge of their ages and chemical compositions can lend deep insights on the physical mechanisms behind galaxy formation. In this talk, I will discuss an ongoing study of the chemical compositions of stellar clusters in the Andromeda galaxy (M31), based on superb intermediate resolution integrated spectra of several hundred M31 clusters, collected with MMT/Hectospec. These spectra were used to determine the abundances of carbon, nitrogen, magnesium, calcium, and iron for 176 old and intermediate age M31 globular clusters. I will present the results from this analysis, compare our results with previous work, and briefly discuss their implications for our understanding of the early formation history of Andromeda. |
M31 with some globular clusters marked
Image by Peter Kennett