A constraint on the formation timescale of the young open cluster NGC 2264: Lithium abundance of pre-main sequence stars

The timescale of cluster formation is an essential parameter in order to understand the formation process of star clusters. Pre-main sequence (PMS) stars in nearby young open clusters reveal a large spread in brightness. If the spread were considered as a result of a real spread in age, the corresponding cluster formation timescale would be about 5 -- 20 Myr. Hence it could be interpreted that star formation in an open cluster is prolonged for up to a few tens of Myr. However, difficulties in reddening correction, observational errors, and systematic uncertainties introduced by imperfect evolutionary models for PMS stars, can result in an artificial age spread. Alternatively, we can utilize Li abundance as a relative age indicator of PMS star to determine the cluster formation timescale. The optical spectra of 134 PMS stars in NGC 2264 have been obtained with MMT/Hectochelle. The equivalent widths have been measured for 86 PMS stars with a detectable Li line (3500 < T_eff [K] <= 6500). Li abundance under the condition of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) was derived using the conventional curve of growth method. After correction for non-LTE effects, we find that the initial Li abundance of NGC 2264 is A(Li) = 3.2 +/- 0.2. From the distribution of the Li abundances, the underlying age spread of the visible PMS stars is estimated to be about 3 -- 4 Myr and this, together with the presence of embedded populations in NGC 2264, suggests that the cluster formed on a timescale shorter than 5 Myr.Comment: 53 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

To the Edge of M87 and Beyond: Spectroscopy of Intracluster Globular Clusters and Ultra Compact Dwarfs in the Virgo Cluster

We present the results from a wide-field spectroscopic survey of globular clusters (GCs) in the Virgo Cluster. We obtain spectra for 201 GCs and 55 ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) using the Hectospec on the Multiple Mirror Telescope, and derive their radial velocities. We identify 46 genuine intracluster GCs (IGCs), not associated with any Virgo galaxies, using the 3D GMM test on the spatial and radial velocity distribution.They are located at the projected distance 200 kpc $\lesssim$ R $\lesssim$ 500 kpc from the center of M87. The radial velocity distribution of these IGCs shows two peaks, one at $v_{\rm r}$ = 1023 km s$^{-1}$ associated with the Virgo main body, and another at $v_{\rm r}$ = 36 km s$^{-1}$ associated with the infalling structure. The velocity dispersion of the IGCs in the Virgo main body is $\sigma_{\rm{GC}} \sim$ 314 km s$^{-1}$, which is smoothly connected to the velocity dispersion profile of M87 GCs, but much lower than that of dwarf galaxies in the same survey field, $\sigma_{\rm{dwarf}} \sim$ 608 km s$^{-1}$. The UCDs are more centrally concentrated on massive galaxies, M87, M86, and M84. The radial velocity dispersion of the UCD system is much smaller than that of dwarf galaxies. Our results confirm the large-scale distribution of Virgo IGCs indicated by previous photometric surveys. The color distribution of the confirmed IGCs shows a bimodality similar to that of M87 GCs. This indicates that most IGCs are stripped off from dwarf galaxies and some from massive galaxies in the Virgo.Comment: 19 pages, 20 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

The Build and Application of a Storm and Flood Standard Data Model of a Damage Prediction Map

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Wandering globular clusters: the first dwarf galaxies in the universe?

In the last decade we witness an advent of new types of dwarf stellar systems in cluding ultra-compact dwarfs, ultra-faint dwarf spheroidals, and exotic globular clusters, breaking the old simple paradigm for dwarf galaxies and globular clusters. These objects become more intriguing, and understanding of these new findings be comes more challenging. Recently we discovered a new type of large scale structure in the Virgo cluster of galaxies: it is composed of globular clusters. Globular clusters in Virgo are found wandering between galaxies (intracluster globular clusters) as well as in galaxies. These intracluster globular clusters fill a significant fraction in the area of the Virgo cluster and they are dominated by blue globular clusters. These intracluster globular clusters may be closely related with the first dwarf galaxies in the universe.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Conference Proceedings: "A Universe of Dwarf Galaxies", 14-18 June 2010, Lyon, Franc