Dark baryons and globular clusters

Abstract

Just like icebergs, globular clusters could well hide large amounts of unseen material in the form of faint and low-mass compact objects. Because the latter dominate in the outer regions where they do not mix with their heavier and brighter companions, they are potentially detectable by the forthcoming infrared telescopes. They should also induce quite a few gravitational microlensings on the more distant stars of the background behind clusters. Observation of such events could shed some light on the dark side of globular clusters, and eventually on the missing mass of the galaxy.