Abstract

Ancient remnants from the early universe surround our galaxy.  These relics, known as “globular clusters” have the potential to provide insight into the physical conditions that prevailed during an epoch that cannot be directly observed.  We now know that globular clusters can form during extreme episodes of star formation in the relatively nearby universe, but the actual physical conditions that give rise to globular clusters have vexed both observers and theorists for decades.  With the new capabilities of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) we can probe the natal environments of these ancient objects for the first time.  This talk will give an overview of progress that has been made in understanding globular clusters, and highlight the importance of using chemistry to understand physical conditions in space.