Abstract

Globular clusters (GCs) are multi-faceted cosmic tracers, currently experiencing a renaissance and resurgence of interest in both their formation mechanisms and their role in global galaxy evolution. In the context of galaxy formation and evolution, the importance of GCs in the earliest stages of galaxy assembly continues to grow. Observations of massive bound clusters at the epoch of reionization and extreme nitrogen enhancement at 𝑧 = 11 are two recent examples from JWST that hint at the significance of GCs in the growth of the earliest galaxies. Meanwhile, the discovery that 50% of ancient, in-situ Milky Way stars are nitrogen-enhanced directly connects GCs to the field of Galactic Archaeology. The local population of Milky Way globular clusters represents a unique set of objects for which age, chemical abundances, and dynamical properties can all be determined with exceptionally high precision (on the order of 1–5%), providing critical insights into galaxy formation and evolution across cosmic time. Over the course of this talk, I will discuss several ways in which we have advanced our understanding of GC formation and gained insight into rare nucleosynthetic sites in early dwarf galaxies. I will also present dynamical results that show how the Milky Way GC population serves as a sensitive probe of our Galaxy’s growth, and I will share some very recent findings that use GC ages to project the Milky Way back in time—placing it in context with star-forming galaxies at 𝑧 = 3.