Objective
Globular clusters (GCs) are among the oldest luminous sources in the universe, bearing witness to the
earliest stages of galaxy formation as well as their evolution to the present day. While GCs have played a
pivotal role in our understanding of the assembly of galaxies, their full potential remains unfulfilled due to
our lack of understanding of how they form. One of the largest stumbling blocks has been the anomalous
chemistry (both metallicity distributions and abundance patterns) of GCs relative to field stars within galaxy.
Here, we will turn the problem around and exploit these differences to understand the co-evolution of GCs
and their host galaxies.
Our understanding of GCs and their formation has undergone a radical change in the past two decades. First,
it is now clear that while traditionally thought of as the quintessential simple stellar populations (i.e. all stars
within a cluster have the same chemical abundances and age), globular clusters host multiple stellar
populations with spreads in He, many light elements (e.g. Na, O, Al) and even Fe in a few cases. Secondly,
GCs, once thought to only be able to form in the special conditions present in the early Universe, are now
known to be still forming today (known as Young Massive Clusters - YMCS). These two facts have opened
up a new window into the interconnectedness of GC and galaxy formation and co-evolution.
In this project we will quantitatively test current GC formation models with observations of YMCs, as well
as organise what is known of the stellar populations within GCs (e.g. abundance spreads, CMD
morphologies), providing, for the first time, a global view (i.e. which characteristics are specific to
individual GCs and which are common to all GCs). These results, when combined with what is known about
massive cluster formation in the local universe, will provide an unprecedented opportunity to use GCs to
constrain the hierarchical assembly of galaxies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy observational astronomy optical astronomy
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy physical cosmology galaxy evolution
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy stellar astronomy
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2014-CoG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
L3 5AH LIVERPOOL
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.