Globular Cluster Systems in Galaxies Beyond the Local Group

Harris, William E.

doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.29.090191.002551

Cited by 476 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Many articles and reviews in the past examined the GCLF as distance indicator suggesting the accuracy of the method ranging between 0.1-0.2 mag, at the level comparable to, or sometimes even better than the other methods used for early type galaxies (Hanes 1977a,b;Harris and Racine 1979;van den Bergh 1985;Harris 1991;Jacoby et al 1992;Ashman et al 1995;Kohle et al 1996;Whitmore 1997;Kissler-Patig 2000;Harris 2001). Other works point out more limitations and shortcomings of the method (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Globular cluster luminosity function as distance indicator

Rejkuba¹

2012

Astrophys Space Sci

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Globular cluster luminosity function as distance indicatorM. Rejkuba 1 Globular clusters are among the first objects used to establish the distance scale of the Universe. In the 1970-ies it has been recognized that the differential magnitude distribution of old globular clusters is very similar in different galaxies presenting a peak at M V ∼ −7.5. This peak magnitude of the so-called Globular Cluster Luminosity Function has been then established as a secondary distance indicator. The intrinsic accuracy of the method has been estimated to be of the order of ∼ 0.2 mag, competitive with other distance determination methods. Lately the study of the Globular Cluster Systems has been used more as a tool for galaxy formation and evolution, and less so for distance determinations. Nevertheless, the collection of homogeneous and large datasets with the ACS on board HST presented new insights on the usefulness of the Globular Cluster Luminosity Function as distance indicator. I discuss here recent results based on observational and theoretical studies, which show that this distance indicator depends on complex physics of the cluster formation and dynamical evolution, and thus can have dependencies on Hubble type, environment and dynamical history of the host galaxy. While the corrections are often relatively small, they can amount to important systematic differences that make the Globular Cluster Luminosity Function a less accurate distance indicator with respect to some other standard candles.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Globular cluster luminosity function as distance indicator

Rejkuba¹

2012

Astrophys Space Sci

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“…For thorough reviews and perspectives on the earlier literature up to approximately 2005, interested readers should see Harris & Racine (1979), Harris (1991Harris ( , 2001, Ashman & Zepf (1998) and . The present article will concentrate on recent developments in GC system (GCS) studies, leading up to a list of currently challenging questions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Massive star clusters in galaxies

Harris

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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The ensemble of all star clusters in a galaxy constitutes its star cluster system. In this review, the focus of the discussion is on the ability of star clusters, particularly the systems of old massive globular clusters (GCs), to mark the early evolutionary history of galaxies. I review current themes and key findings in GC research, and highlight some of the outstanding questions that are emerging from recent work.

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“…Harris 1991;Larson 1990). The duration and/or star-formation efficiency during this collapse phase ultimately determine the mass fraction of stars in the bulge/halo population compared to that in the disk population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The range of S for ellipticals is 2-15 (Harris 1986(Harris , 1991 1988). However, as pointed out by Harris et al ( 1988) and Harris (1991), there is not a sufficient number of spirals with measured values of S to be comfortable with this trend. Indeed, the recently discovered population of true globulars around M33 (e.g., Schommer et al 1991) coupled with its very small bulge luminosity (e.g., Bothun 1992) means that M33 has a value of S>50!…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detection of the globular-cluster population around NGC 7814

Bothun¹,

Harris

Hesser

1992

PASP

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ABSTRACT. We report the statistical detection of 120 ±25 globular clusters in fields surrounding the edge-on S0 3 galaxy NGC 7814. Counts of objects are made to F=24.5 and reach at least the peak of the globular-cluster luminosity function (GCLF). The bulge of NGC 7814 is of moderate luminosity and is highly flattened with an axial ratio of b/a=0A%. Counts made from 0!5-5!0 radius in concentric rings of width 0!5 show a clear detection of excess objects relative to the background in each annulus. Correcting for incompleteness in both magnitude and areal coverage yields a total cluster population of 498 ± 164 within this region. We are thus confident that we have a strong detection of the globularcluster system (GCS) of NGC 7814. Accounting for the presence of clusters that we could not detect in the inner few kpc and those that might lie outside our survey area would likely increase the total population by a factor of 2. At our assumed distance of (m-M) =30.48, the specific frequency (5) of globulars is 7.6 ±3.2. The intrinsic GCLF for NGC 7814 is very poorly determined from these data but may indicate a distance 1 mag further away, in which case S would be 5.2 ±2.2. These values of S are typical for elliptical galaxies but are rather high compared to those of spirals. The radial distribution of globular-cluster candidates does not fall off as fast as the halo light. Excess counts in a field not centered on the minor axis can only be reconciled with the rest of the data if the GCS of NGC 7814 is highly flattened.

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Globular Cluster Systems in Galaxies Beyond the Local Group

Cited by 476 publications

References 2 publications

Globular cluster luminosity function as distance indicator

Globular cluster luminosity function as distance indicator

Massive star clusters in galaxies

Detection of the globular-cluster population around NGC 7814

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