A new era for the globular cluster system in M31

Abstract The globular cluster system in M31 is an ideal laboratory for studying the formation and evolution of M31 as well as the globular clusters themselves. There have been numerous surveys and studies of the globular clusters in M31. However, only recently has the entire body of M31 been searched for globular clusters using wide-field CCD images by our group. A new era for the M31 globular cluster system has begun with the advent of wide-field CCD surveys of M31. We have discovered more than 100 new globular clusters in M31. Our catalog currently includes more than 500 globular clusters confirmed either based on spectra or HST images, many more than in the Milky Way. We present the structure, kinematics and chemical abundance of the M31 globular cluster system based on this large sample, and the implications for the formation and evolution of M31.