Globular clusters are well studied systems, because they offer the opportunity to look on a large number of stars of different masses, all with pretty much the same age and initial chemical composition. Much of our knowledge of stellar evolution comes from the study of these systems. However, we can, as yet only really look at individual stars in very nearby objects, those associated with our own galaxy, or with the Magellanic Clouds. This program is an attempt to enable us to obtain accurate information about the chemical composition and age of much more distant globular clusters. The investigators combine internationally recognized expertise in the fields of the theory of stellar atmospheres, spectroscopy and the study of globular clusters. They will utilize computation of model stellar atmospheres, stellar evolution calculations, and various luminosity functions and ages to predict integrated spectra which can be measured for distant objects. They will calibrate their model parameters with data from nearby globular clusters for which these parameters have been determined by other means.
