Seminar
Unveiling the inner Milky Way globular cluster system

Resumen

A serious limitation in the study of the Galactic inner halo and bulge globular clusters has been the existence of large and differential extinction by foreground dust. We have mapped the differential extinction and removed its effects, using a new dereddening technique, in a sample of 25 clusters in the direction of the inner Galaxy, observed in the optical using the Magellan 6.5m telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. We have also observed a sample of 33 inner Galactic globular clusters in the framework of the VVV survey that is currently being conducted with the new Vista 4m telescope, in infrared bands where the extinction is highly reduced. Using these observations we have produced high quality color-magnitude diagrams of these poorly studied clusters that allow us to determine these clusters relative ages, distances and chemistry more accurately and to address important questions about the formation and the evolution of the inner Galaxy.