Understanding the origin of globular clusters (GCs) is at the frontier of astronomy.
Present-day GCs appear to have lost memory of the initial conditions in which they originated and, despite a great wealth, the present data not allow one to reconstruct their evolutionary path.
Fortunately, the recent discovery of the precursors of GCs at high redshifts has opened a new perspective. Resolving the formation of GCs is one of the most ambitious goals in galaxy formation, but requires very high spatial resolution, that poses a significant challenge to current simulations and hampers any comparison with observed GCs.
Following up on an existing set of simulations with sub-parsec spatial resolution, in the present project the study will carry on new cosmological simulations suitable to model the formation of GCs in a realistic proto-Galactic environment.
The team requires 24.9 Mhrs on DISCOVERER to model, for the first time in a cosmological context, the evolution of GCs for 2 Gyr of cosmic time, key to study with unprecedented detail the long-term dynamical history of these systems.
The project's simulations are strategically important in competitive fields dominating the scientific scope of present and future observing facilities.
Francesco Calura, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica - Italy