# Three candidate globular clusters discovered in the Galactic bulge

## TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of three new old and metal-poor globular clusters in the Galactic bulge using multi-survey photometry, providing insights into the Galaxy's early formation history.

## Contribution

The study introduces three newly identified globular clusters in the Galactic bulge, expanding the known population and offering clues about the Galaxy's primordial components.

## Key findings

- Clusters are old (12.0-13.5 Gyr) and metal-poor ([Fe/H] < -1.5 dex).
- Camargo 1107 has [Fe/H] = -2.2 +/- 0.4 dex and age ~13.5 Gyr.
- These clusters may be part of the inner halo or primordial bulge population.

## Abstract

This work reports the discovery of three new globular clusters (GCs) towards the Galactic bulge - Camargo 1107, 1108, and 1109. The discovery was made using the WISE, 2MASS, VVV, and Gaia-DR2 photometry. The new findings are old (12.0-13.5 Gyr) and metal-poor GCs ([Fe/H] < -1.5 dex) located in the bulge area close to the Milky Way (MW) mid-plane. Although the old ages and low metallicities suggest that the newly discovered GCs are likely associated with the inner halo the possibility of these clusters being part of a primordial bulge GC subpopulation cannot be ruled out. Camargo 1107, for instance, presents a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -2.2 +/- 0.4 dex and an age of 13.5 +/- 2 Gyr, which may suggest that this cluster formed just after the Big Bang in the very early Universe. The discovery of GCs such as the new findings is crucial to built a coherent picture of the inner Galaxy. It is likely that at least a few more dozens of GCs are still to be discovered in the bulge.