Tracing the Early Milky Way with Globular Clusters: The Diagnostic Power of Neutron-Capture Elements

TL;DR

This study emphasizes the importance of neutron-capture element analysis in globular clusters to better understand the early formation and assembly history of the Milky Way, highlighting the need for advanced spectroscopic techniques.

Contribution

It advocates for a comprehensive, homogeneous survey of neutron-capture elements in globular clusters to improve insights into their origins and the Galaxy's early chemical evolution.

Findings

Neutron-capture elements can distinguish between in situ and accreted globular clusters.

A large, homogeneous dataset of n-capture elements will refine models of Milky Way formation.

High-resolution spectroscopy is essential for detailed chemical diagnostics.

Abstract

Globular clusters (GCs) are fundamental tracers of the early assembly of the Milky Way (MW). They formed in diverse environments -- including both our Galaxy and dwarf galaxies -- retaining chemical and dynamical signatures that encode their origins and the merger history of the Galaxy. Although significant progress has been made in characterising GC chemistry, most studies have focused on light, $\alpha$-, and iron-peak elements. In contrast, neutron-capture (n-capture) elements remain sparsely investigated across the GC system, despite their unique ability to trace nucleosynthetic channels and star-formation timescales. A homogeneous and statistically robust mapping of n-process elements in a large sample of GCs would provide powerful constraints on their formation environments, chemical signatures of in situ and accreted systems, and refine our understanding of the early chemical evolution of the MW halo. Addressing this gap requires high-resolution, multiplexing, and blue-sensitive spectroscopy capable of accessing the full suite of n-capture diagnostics in several tens of stars per GC.