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Article Contents

ABSTRACT

1.PREAMBLE

2.MOTIVATION

2.1.Why study globular cluster systems?

2.2.Advantages of using globular clusters

3.Current and future observational methods

3.1.Optical photometry

3.2.Near-infrared photometry

3.3.Multi-object spectroscopy

4.GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN VARIOUS GALAXY TYPES, AND WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THEM

4.1.Globular clusters in early-type galaxies

4.2.Globular clusters in late-type galaxies

4.3.Star clusters in mergers and violent interactions

5.GLOBULAR CLUSTER SUB-POPULATIONS AND THEIR ORIGIN

5.1.The different scenarios for sub-populations

5.2.Pros and cons of the scenarios

6.KINEMATICS OF GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

6.1.Globular cluster system formation

6.2.Galaxy dynamics

7.GLOBULAR CLUSTERS AS DISTANCE INDICATORS

7.1.The globular cluster luminosity function

7.2.General problems

7.3.The classical way: using all globular clusters of a system

7.4.The alternative way: using metal-poor globular clusters only

7.5.A few examples, comparisons, and the value of H0 from the GCLF method

7.6.The Future of the method

8.CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES