Program: GN-2006B-Q-97

We propose to obtain K-band imaging of five galaxies which have recently undergone mergers in order to study their populations of star clusters. These clusters were created during episodes of star formation triggered during galaxy interactions, and can be used to understand the role of galaxy interactions in elliptical galaxy evolution. These five galaxies have been selected as intermediate-age merger remnants based on their structure, colors, and enhanced Balmer absorption, and we have obtained optical photometry (V & I) in Cycle 7 (GO-7468, PI Schweizer). However, optical colors alone suffer from a degeneracy between age and metallicity, and based on the optical data alone we cannot accurately determine cluster ages. Fortunately, the addition of infrared photometry, specifically the use of (V-K) colors, can break this degeneracy, allowing us to determine accurate ages and metallicities of these clusters.