Rebecca Bernstein

Title: Detailed Chemical Abundances of Extragalactic Star Clusters

Abstract: My collaborators and I have developed a method for measuring detailed
chemical abundances from high resolution spectra of the integrated light
of globular clusters.   With this method, we can now measure diagnostic
abundance ratios for extragalactic star clusters with accuracies of
+/- 0.1 dex in [Fe/H] and [X/Fe], similar to the accuracy for individual
stars in the Milky Way.  We can also measure ages from 0.1 to 13 Gyrs.
Because star clusters are formed throughout the lifetimes of galaxies in
all episodes of star formation, this technique opens the door to using
star clusters to trace chemical evolution and star formation over the
lifetimes of galaxies within ~4 Mpc.  We are now targeting galaxies of
all types: NGC 5128 (the nearest E/S0), M81/M82 (a nearby interacting,
starbursting system), and M31 (the nearest massive spiral).  I will describe
this method, and give an update on our latest results