Globular cluster luminosity function as distance indicator

Rejkuba, M.

doi:10.1007/s10509-012-0986-9

Cited by 83 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(113 reference statements)

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“…For the compact GCs with effective radii below 6 pc, we derive a turnover of the luminosity function of M V,TO = −7.67 ± 0.11 mag, which is in very good agreement with the mean turnover luminosity for the Milky Way and 18 nearby galaxies, M V,TO = −7.66 ± 0.09 mag (Rejkuba 2012). Figure 16 shows the trend of the turnover luminosity as a function of the effective radius.…”

Section: Trends Of the Turnover Luminosity With Effective Radiussupporting

confidence: 73%

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A catalog of extended clusters and ultra-compact dwarf galaxies

Kroupa

2012

A&A

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Context. In the past decade, very extended old stellar clusters with masses in the range from a few 10 4 to 10 8 M and effective radii larger than 10 pc have been found in various types of galaxies in different environments. Objects with masses comparable to normal globular clusters (GCs) are called extended clusters (ECs), while objects with masses in the dwarf galaxy regime are called ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs). Aims. The paper analyses the observational parameters total luminosity, M V , effective radius, r eff , and projected distance to the host galaxy, R proj , of all known ECs and UCDs and the dependence of these parameters on the type and the total luminosity of their host galaxy. Methods. We searched the available literature to compile a catalog of star clusters with effective radii larger than 10 pc. As there is no clear distinction between ECs and UCDs, both types of objects will be called extended stellar objects -abbreviated "EOs" -in this paper.Results. In total, we found 813 EOs of which 171 are associated with late-type galaxies and 642 EOs associated with early-type galaxies. EOs cover a luminosity range from about M V = −4 to −14 mag. However, the vast majority of EOs brighter than M V = −10 mag are associated with giant elliptical galaxies. At each magnitude extended objects are found with effective radii between 10 pc and an upper size limit, which shows a clear trend: the more luminous the object the larger is the upper size limit. For EOs associated with early-and late-type galaxies, the EO luminosity functions peak at −6.40 mag and −6.47 mag, respectively, which is about one magnitude fainter than the peak of the GC luminosity function. EOs and GCs form a coherent structure in the r eff vs. M V parameter space, while there is a clear gap between EOs and early-type dwarf galaxies. However, there is a small potential overlap at the high-mass end, where the most extended EOs are close to the parameters of some compact elliptical galaxies. We compare the EO sample with the numerical models of a previous paper and conclude that the parameters of the EO sample as a whole can be very well explained by a star cluster origin, where EOs are the results of merged star clusters of cluster complexes.

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Section: Trends Of the Turnover Luminosity With Effective Radiussupporting

confidence: 73%

“…For compact GCs, the turnover of the luminosity function, M V,TO , is very constant for various types of galaxies, making it a reasonable distance estimator (see Rejkuba 2012, and references therein). The mean turnover luminosity for the Milky Way and 18 nearby galaxies is M V,TO = −7.66 ± 0.09 mag.…”

Section: Eo Luminosity Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A catalog of extended clusters and ultra-compact dwarf galaxies

Kroupa

2012

A&A

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“…The absolute TOM in the R-filter in old GCSs is about −7.9 (Richtler 2003;Rejkuba 2012). We therefore expect the TOM to be around R = 25.6, whereas our photometry is already incomplete at brighter magnitudes.…”

Section: Number Counts and Specific Frequencymentioning

confidence: 70%

Isolated elliptical galaxies and their globular cluster systems

Richtler¹,

Salinas²,

Hilker³

et al. 2015

A&A

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Context. Rich globular cluster systems, particularly the metal-poor part of them, are thought to be the visible manifestations of longterm accretion processes. The invisible part is the dark matter halo, which may show some correspondence to the globular cluster system. It is therefore interesting to investigate the globular cluster systems of isolated elliptical galaxies, which supposedly have not experienced extended accretion. Aims. We investigate the globular cluster system of the isolated elliptical NGC 7796, present new photometry of the galaxy, and use published kinematical data to constrain the dark matter content. Methods. Deep images in B and R, obtained with the VIsible MultiObject Spectrograph (VIMOS) at the VLT, form the data base. We performed photometry with DAOPHOT and constructed a spherical photometric model. We present isotropic and anisotropic Jeans-models and give a morphological description of the companion dwarf galaxy. Results. The globular cluster system has about 2000 members, so it is not as rich as those of giant ellipticals in galaxy clusters with a comparable stellar mass, but richer than many cluster systems of other isolated ellipticals. The colour distribution of globular clusters is bimodal, which does not necessarily mean a metallicity bimodality. The kinematic literature data are somewhat inconclusive. The velocity dispersion in the inner parts can be reproduced without dark matter under isotropy. Radially anisotropic models need a low stellar mass-to-light ratio, which would contrast with the old age of the galaxy. A MONDian model is supported by X-ray analysis and previous dynamical modelling, but better data are necessary for a confirmation. The dwarf companion galaxy NGC 7796-1 exhibits tidal tails, multiple nuclei, and very boxy isophotes. Conclusions. NGC 7796 is an old, massive isolated elliptical galaxy with no indications of later major star formation events as seen frequently in other isolated ellipticals. Its relatively rich globular cluster system shows that isolation does not always mean a poor cluster system. The properties of the dwarf companion might indicate a dwarf-dwarf merger.

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“…In the case of disk galaxies, GCs are mainly composed of metal-poor GCs in the halo and of metal-rich GCs in the bulge. The turnover magnitudes of the metal-rich GCs are known to be fainter than those of the metal-poor GCs in some galaxies (Di Criscienzo et al 2006;Rejkuba 2012). Therefore, the GCLFs of the metalpoor GCs are considered a better standard candle than those of the entire GCs or the GCLFs of the metal-rich GCs (Di Criscienzo et al 2006;Rejkuba 2012).…”

Section: Gclfsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Globular Clusters and Spur Clusters in NGC 4921, the Brightest Spiral Galaxy in the Coma Cluster

Lee

Jang

2016

ApJ

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We resolve a significant fraction of globular clusters (GCs) in NGC 4921, the brightest spiral galaxy in the Coma cluster. We also find a number of extended bright star clusters (star complexes) in the spur region of the arms. The latter are much brighter and bluer than those in the normal star-forming region, being as massive as 3×105 M e . The color distribution of the GCs in this galaxy is found to be bimodal. The turnover magnitudes of the luminosity functions of the blue (metal-poor) GCs (0.70<(V − I)1.05) in the halo are estimated V (max)=27.11±0.09 mag and I(max)=26.21±0.11 mag. We obtain similar values for NGC 4923, a companion S0 galaxy, and two Coma cD galaxies (NGC 4874 and NGC 4889). The mean value for the turnover magnitudes of these four galaxies is I(max)=26.25±0.03 mag. Adopting M I (max)=−8.56±0.09 mag for the metal-poor GCs, we determine the mean distance to the four Coma galaxies to be 91±4 Mpc. Combining this with the Coma radial velocity, we derive a value of the Hubble constant, H 0 =77.9±3.6 km s −1 Mpc −1 . We estimate the GC specific frequency of NGC 4921 to be S N =1.29±0.25, close to the values for early-type galaxies. This indicates that NGC 4921 is in the transition phase to S0s.

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Globular cluster luminosity function as distance indicator

Cited by 83 publications

References 85 publications

A catalog of extended clusters and ultra-compact dwarf galaxies

A catalog of extended clusters and ultra-compact dwarf galaxies

Isolated elliptical galaxies and their globular cluster systems

Globular Clusters and Spur Clusters in NGC 4921, the Brightest Spiral Galaxy in the Coma Cluster

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