"The Origins of Globular Clusters and Ultra-compact Dwarfs around Massive Ellipticals"


Abstract: I will present the results of new wide-field photometric and spectroscopic surveys of globular clusters (GCs) 
around nearby massive elliptical galaxies.  Trends in GC metallicities and kinematics with galactocentric radius point to 
inner halos of GCs originating "in situ", and outer halo GCs arriving by accretion.  I will also discuss the implications of 
unrelaxed substructures for the use of GCs as dynamical tracers of dark matter distributions, and will present chemo-orbital 
comparisons of GCs and ultra-compact dwarf galaxies from our surveys to look for signatures of common or disparate 
origins for these objects.