1,712 research outputs found
Spectral Energy Distributions and Age Estimates of 172 Globular Clusters in M31
In this paper we present CCD multicolor photometry for 172 globular clusters
(GCs), taken from the Bologna catalog (Battistini et al. 1987), in the nearby
spiral galaxy M31. The observations were carried out by using the National
Astronomical Observatories 60/90 cm Schmidt Telescope in 13 intermediate-band
filters, which covered a range of wavelength from 3800 to 10000A. This provides
a multicolor map of M31 in pixels of 1.7"*1.7". By aperture photometry, we
obtain the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for these GCs. Using the
relationship between the BATC intermediate-band system used for the
observations and the UBVRI broad-band system, the magnitudes in the B and V
bands are derived. The computed V and B-V are in agreement with the values
given by Battistini et al. (1987) and Barmby et al. (2000). Finally, by
comparing the photometry of each GC with theoretical stellar population
synthesis models, we estimate ages of the sample GCs for different
metallicities. The results show that nearly all our sample GCs have ages more
than 10^{9} years, and most of them are around 10^{10} years old. Also, we find
that GCs fitted by the metal-poor model are generally older than ones fitted by
the metal-rich model.Comment: 38 pages, 7 figures will appear in the February 2003 issue of A
Spectroscopy of Globular Clusters in M81
We present moderate-resolution spectroscopy of globular clusters (GCs) around
the Sa/Sb spiral galaxy M81 (NGC 3031). Sixteen candidate clusters were
observed with the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph on the Keck I telescope.
All are confirmed as bona fide GCs, although one of the clusters appears to
have been undergoing a transient event during our observations. In general, the
M81 globular cluster system (GCS) is found to be very similar to the Milky Way
(MW) and M31 systems, both chemically and kinematically. A kinematic analysis
of the velocities of 44 M81 GCS, (the 16 presented here and 28 from previous
work) strongly suggests that the red, metal-rich clusters are rotating in the
same sense as the gas in the disk of M81. The blue, metal-poor clusters have
halo-like kinematics, showing no evidence for rotation. The kinematics of
clusters whose projected galactocentric radii lie between 4 and 8 kpc suggest
that they are rotating much more than those which lie outside these bounds. We
suggest that these rotating, intermediate-distance clusters are analogous to
the kinematic sub-population in the metal-rich, disk GCs observed in the MW and
we present evidence for the existence of a similar sub-population in the
metal-rich clusters of M31. With one exception, all of the M81 clusters in our
sample have ages that are consistent with MW and M31 GCs. One cluster may be as
young as a few Gyrs. The correlations between absorption-line indices
established for MW and M31 GCs also hold in the M81 cluster system, at least at
the upper end of the metallicity distribution (which our sample probes). On the
whole, the mean metallicity of the M81 GCS is similar to the metallicity of the
MW and M31 GCSs. The projected mass of M81 is similar to the masses of the MW
and M31. Its mass profile indicates the presence of a dark matter halo.Comment: 35 pages, including 11 figures and 9 tables. Accepted for publication
in the Astronomical Journa
The outermost cluster of M31
We report on the identification of a new cluster in the far halo of the M31
galaxy. The cluster, named Bologna 514 (B514) has an integrated magnitude
M_V=-8.5 +- 0.6, and a radial velocity, as estimated from two independent
low-resolution spectra, V_r=-456 +- 23 km/s, which fully confirms its
membership to the M31 system. The observed integrated spectrum is very similar
to those of classical globular clusters. Being located at ~ 4^o (~55 kpc in
projected distance) from the center of the parent galaxy, B514 is by far the
most remote M31 cluster ever discovered. Its projected position, near the
galaxy major axis, and M31-centric velocity, similar to that observed in the
outermost regions of the HI rotation curve, may indicate that it belongs to the
subsystem of M31 clusters that has been recently proposed (Morrison et al.
2004) to be part of the dynamically-cold thin disc of the galaxy.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A &
The Kinematics and Metallicity of the M31 Globular Cluster System
With the ultimate aim of distinguishing between various models describing the
formation of galaxy halos (e.g. radial or multi-phase collapse, random
mergers), we have completed a spectroscopic study of the globular cluster
system of M31. We present the results of deep, intermediate-resolution,
fibre-optic spectroscopy of several hundred of the M31 globular clusters using
the Wide Field Fibre Optic Spectrograph (WYFFOS) at the William Herschel
Telescope in La Palma, Canary Islands. These observations have yielded precise
radial velocities (+/-12 km/s) and metallicities (+/-0.26 dex) for over 200
members of the M31 globular cluster population out to a radius of 1.5 degrees
from the galaxy center. Many of these clusters have no previous published
radial velocity or [Fe/H] estimates, and the remainder typically represent
significant improvements over earlier determinations. We present analyses of
the spatial, kinematic and metal abundance properties of the M31 globular
clusters. We find that the abundance distribution of the cluster system is
consistent with a bimodal distribution with peaks at [Fe/H] = -1.4 and -0.5.
The metal-rich clusters demonstrate a centrally concentrated spatial
distribution with a high rotation amplitude, although this population does not
appear significantly flattened and is consistent with a bulge population. The
metal-poor clusters tend to be less spatially concentrated and are also found
to have a strong rotation signature.Comment: 33 pages, 20 figure
The Chemical Properties of Milky Way and M31 Globular Clusters: I. A Comparative Study
A comparative analysis is performed between high-quality integrated spectra
of 30 globular clusters in M31, 20 Milky Way clusters, and a sample of field
and cluster elliptical galaxies. We find that the Lick CN indices in the M31
and Galactic clusters are enhanced relative to the bulges of the Milky Way,
M31, and elliptical spheroids. Although not seen in the Lick CN indices, the
near-UV cyanogen feature (3883 A) is strongly enhanced in M31 clustesr with
respect to the Galactic globulars at metallicities, --1.5<[Fe/H]<--0.3. Carbon
shows signs of varying amongst these two groups. For [Fe/H]>--0.8, we observe
no siginificant differences in the Hdelta, Hgamma, or Hbeta indices between the
M31 and Galactic globulars. The sample of ellipticals lies offset from the loci
of all the globulars in the Cyanogen--[MgFe], and Balmer--[MgFe] planes. Six of
the M31 cluster spectra appear young, and are projected onto the M31 disk.
Population synthesis models suggest that these are metal-rich clusters with
ages 100--800 Myr, metallicities --0.20 < [Fe/H] <0.35, and masses 0.7
-7.0x10^4 Msun. Two other young clusters are Hubble V in NGC 205, and an older
(~3 Gyr) cluster ~7 kpc away from the plane of the disk. The six clusters
projected onto the disk rotate in a similar fashion to the HI gas in M31, and
three clusters exhibit thin disk kinematics (Morrison et al.). Dynamical masses
and structural parameters are required for these objects to determine whether
they are massive open clusters or globular clusters. If the latter, our
findings suggest globular clusters may trace the build up of galaxy disks. In
either case, we conclude that these clusters are part of a young, metal-rich
disk cluster system in M31, possibly as young as 1 Gyr old.Comment: 52 pages, 14 figures, 8 tables, minor revisions in response to
referee, conclusions remain the same. Scheduled to appear in the October 2004
issue of The Astronomical Journa
Globular clusters in the outer halo of M31: the survey
We report the discovery of 40 new globular clusters (GCs) that have been
found in surveys of the halo of M31 based on INT/WFC and CHFT/Megacam imagery.
A subset of these these new GCs are of an extended, diffuse nature, and include
those already found in Huxor et al. (2005). The search strategy is described
and basic positional and V and I photometric data are presented for each
cluster. For a subset of these clusters, K-band photometry is also given. The
new clusters continue to be found to the limit of the survey area (~100 kpc),
revealing that the GC system of M31 is much more extended than previously
realised. The new clusters increase the total number of confirmed GCs in M31 by
approximately 10% and the number of confirmed GCs beyond 1 degree (~14 kpc) by
more than 75%. We have also used the survey imagery as well recent HST archival
data to update the Revised Bologna Catalogue (RBC) of M31 globular clusters.Comment: Accepted to MNRA
Wide-Field Survey of Globular Clusters in M31. I. A Catalog of New Clusters
We present the result of a wide-field survey of globular clusters (GCs) in
M31 covering a 3deg x 3deg field c. We have searched for GCs on CCD images
taken with Washington CMT1 filters at the KPNO 0.9 m telescope using steps: (1)
inspection of morphological parameters given by the SExtractor package such as
stellarity, full maximum, and ellipticity; (2) consulting the spectral types
and radial velocities obtained from spectra takena spectrograph at the WIYN 3.5
m telescope; and (3) visual inspection of the images of each object. We have
and GC candidates, of which 605 are newly found GCs and GC candidates and 559
are previously known GCs. Amoects there are 113 genuine GCs, 258 probable GCs,
and 234 possible GCs, according to our classification critee known objects
there are 383 genuine GCs, 109 probable GCs, and 67 possible GCs. In total
there are 496 genprobable GCs and 301 possible GCs. Most of these newly found
GCs have T1 magnitudes of 17.5 - 19.5 mag, [17.9 < V < 19.9 mag assuming (C-T1)
~ 1.5], and (C-T1) colors in the range 1 - 2.Comment: accepted by AJ, using emulateapj.cl
The M31 Globular Cluster Luminosity Function
We combine our compilation of photometry of M31 globular cluster and probable
cluster candidates with new near-infrared photometry for 30 objects. Using
these data we determine the globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) in
multiple filters for the M31 halo clusters. We find a GCLF peak and dispersion
of V_0^0=16.84 +/-0.11, sigma_t=0.93 +/- 0.13 (Gaussian sigma = 1.20 +/- 0.14),
consistent with previous results. The halo GCLF peak colors (e.g., B^0_0 -
V^0_0) are consistent with the average cluster colors. We also measure V-band
GCLF parameters for several other subsamples of the M31 globular cluster
population. The inner third of the clusters have a GCLF peak significantly
brigher than that of the outer clusters (delta V =~ 0.5mag). Dividing the
sample by both galacticentric distance and metallicity, we find that the GCLF
also varies with metallicity, as the metal-poor clusters are on average 0.36
mag fainter than the metal-rich clusters. Our modeling of the catalog selection
effects suggests that they are not the cause of the measured differences, but a
more complete, less-contaminated M31 cluster catalog is required for
confirmation. Our results imply that dynamical destruction is not the only
factor causing variation in the M31 GCLF: metallicity, age, and cluster initial
mass function may also be important.Comment: AJ, in press. 36 pages, including 7 figure
2MASS NIR photometry for 693 candidate globular clusters in M31 and the Revised Bologna Catalogue
We have identified in the 2MASS database 693 known and candidate globular
clusters in M31. The 2MASS J,H,K magnitudes of these objects have been
transformed to the same homogeneous photometric system of existing near
infrared photometry of M31 globulars, finally yielding J,H,K integrated
photometry for 279 confirmed M31 clusters, 406 unconfirmed candidates and 8
objects with controversial classification. Of these objects 529 lacked any
previous estimate of their near infrared magnitudes. The newly assembled near
infrared dataset has been implemented into a revised version of the Bologna
Catalogue of M31 globulars, with updated optical (UBVRI) photometry taken, when
possible, from the most recent sources of CCD photometry available in the
literature and transformed to a common photometric system. The final Revised
Bologna Catalogue (available in electronic form) is the most comprehensive list
presently available of confirmed and candidate M31 globular clusters, with a
total of 1164 entries. In particular, it includes 337 confirmed GCs, 688 GC
candidates, 10 objects with controversial classification, 70 confirmed
galaxies, 55 confirmed stars, and 4 HII regions lying within ~3 deg. from the
center of the M31 galaxy. Using the newly assembled database we show that the
V-K color provides a powerful tool to discriminate between M31 clusters and
background galaxies, and we identify a sample of 83 globular cluster
candidates, which is not likely to be contaminated by misclassified galaxies.Comment: 9 pages,5 figures,accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysics ASCII (commented) version of the tables 2,3,4 are available at
http://www.bo.astro.it/M3
The Distance to the M31 Globular Cluster System
The distance to the centroid of the M31 globular cluster system is determined
by fitting theoretical isochrones to the observed red-giant branches of
fourteen globular clusters in M31. The mean true distance modulus of the M31
globular clusters is found to be 24.47 +/- 0.07 mag. This is consistent with
distance modulii for M31 that have been obtained using other distance
indicators.Comment: 11 pages, 2 postscript figures, uses aaspp4.sty, to be published in
the May 1998 Astronomical Journa
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