Description
Globular clusters (GCs) are valuable tools for studying the formation and evolutionary history of galaxies. As old (t > 10Gyr) and relatively simple stellar systems, they act as fossil tracers and can be used to disentangle the processes that have shaped galaxies within their host environments. On extragalactic scales, GCs are typically unresolved bright sources, and their properties are studied through integrated light observations. By analyzing the color, luminosity, and spatial distributions, total number, and kinematics of globular clusters, we can uncover critical information about the environment and star formation history of their host galaxies, their past interactions, and dark matter content.
In the last decade, deeper imaging data have led to the identification of a new subset of extremely low-surface brightness galaxies, known as ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs). The formation mechanisms of these galaxies remain enigmatic. Their many puzzling properties–including stellar mass, dark matter mass and globular cluster abundance–suggest that multiple formation pathways may be at play. One way to discriminate between different formation scenarios is through the study of the GC populations within these galaxies. During my talk, I will present results about our study of the GC population in UDGs in the Hydra I cluster. These results are derived by combining the spectro-photometric
capabilities of data obtained with MUSE@VLT in synergy with near-infrared observations taken with VIRCAM@VISTA.
