"The role of galaxy interactions in the formation and evolution of GC systems"

Patrick Cote (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics)

It is now well established that a variety of interaction processes -- including both 
dissipational and dissipationless mergers and accretions, as well as tidal stripping of 
low-mass galaxies -- have played a role in shaping the globular cluster systems we 
observe in the local universe. 
In this talk, I shall review the direct (and indirect) observational evidence for such 
processes operating within nearby galaxies and their globular cluster systems, and 
examine how current models for the hierarchical formation of galaxies can guide future 
observing programs. I will briefly review some large, ongoing imaging surveys and 
consider how future observing facilities might illuminate the history of mergers and 
interactions in nearby galaxies.