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M. R. Santos, M. Kamionkowski (Caltech)
Some models of globular cluster formation predict that old globular clusters form in isolated dark matter halos at high redshifts. For example, the reionization-stimulated globular cluster formation model of Cen (2001) predicts that old globular clusters are formed in low mass (\la 108~{\mathrm M\odot}) dark matter halos around the redshift of reionization (zreion~ 7). Following Cen, we use the Press-Schechter distribution for dark matter halo abundances to compute the abundance of globular clusters at high redshift. We follow the merging history of these globular cluster with the extended Press-Schechter model of Lacey & Cole (1993). We calibrate the model with old globular cluster abundances in the Milky Way, and predict the distribution of old globular clusters as a function of dark matter halo mass. We focus on a testable hypothesis of the model: this class of models predicts that some globular clusters should exist in isolation in the intergalactic medium. We compute the possibilities for testing this with sky surveys and follow-up observations.