55 research outputs found
The Formation of Giant Elliptical Galaxies and Their Globular Cluster Systems
The bimodal globular cluster (GC) metallicity distributions of many giant
elliptical galaxies are often cited as evidence for the formation of such
galaxies through mergers involving gas-rich spirals. In such models, the metal-
rich GCs are assumed to have formed during the merger process. We explore an
alternative possibility: that these metal-rich clusters represent the galaxy's
intrinsic GC population and that the metal-poor component of the observed GC
metallicity distribution arises from the capture of GCs from other galaxies,
either through mergers or through tidal stripping. Starting with plausible
assumptions for the initial galaxy luminosity function and for the dependence
of GC metallicity on parent galaxy luminosity, we show that the growth of a
pre-existing seed galaxy through mergers and tidal stripping is accompanied by
the capture of metal-poor GCs whose properties are similar to those which are
observed to surround giant ellipticals. We describe a method of using the
observed number of metal-poor and metal-rich GCs to infer the merger histories
of individual elliptical galaxies, and use this technique to derive limits on
the number of galaxies and total luminosity accreted to date by M49. We argue
that although GC specific frequency is conserved in galaxy mergers, the same
may not be true of tidal stripping by the mean field of the host galaxy
cluster. Comparisons of model GC metallicity distributions and specific
frequencies to those observed for the well-studied galaxies M49 and M87 show
that it is possible to explain their bimodal GC metallicity distributions and
discordant specific frequencies without resorting to the formation of new GCs
in mergers or by invoking multiple bursts of GC formation.Comment: 39 pages AAS Latex and 10 postscript figures. Also available at
http://astro.caltech.edu/~pc. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Intracluster Globular Clusters
Globular cluster populations of supergiant elliptical galaxies are known to
vary widely, from extremely populous systems like that of UGC 9799, the
centrally dominant galaxy in Abell 2052, to globular-cluster-poor galaxies such
as NGC 5629 in Abell 2666. Here we propose that these variations point strongly
to the existence of a population of globular clusters that are not bound to
individual galaxies, but rather move freely throughout the cores of clusters of
galaxies. Such intracluster globular clusters may have originated as tidally
stripped debris from galaxy interactions and mergers, or alternatively they may
have formed in situ in some scenarios of globular cluster formation.Comment: 9 pages, uuencoded compressed postscript. Accepted for publication in
the Astrophysical Journal Letter
UCDs in the Coma Cluster
As part of the HST/ACS Coma Cluster Treasury Survey, we have undertaken a
Keck/LRIS spectroscopic campaign to determine membership for faint dwarf
galaxies. In the process, we discovered a population of Ultra Compact Dwarf
galaxies (UCDs) in the core region of the Coma cluster. At the distance of
Coma, UCDs are expected to have angular sizes 0.01 < R_e < 0.2 arcsec. With ACS
imaging, we can resolve all but the smallest ones with careful fitting.
Candidate UCDs were chosen based on magnitude, color, and degree of resolution.
We spectroscopically confirm 27 objects as bona fide UCD members of the Coma
cluster, a 60% success rate for objects targeted with M_R < -12. We attribute
the high success rate in part to the high resolution of HST data and to an
apparent large population of UCDs in Coma. We find that the UCDs tend to be
strongly clustered around giant galaxies, at least in the core region of the
cluster, and have a distribution and colors that are similar to globular
clusters. These findings suggest that UCDs are not independent galaxies, but
rather have a star cluster origin. This current study provides the dense
environment datapoint necessary for understanding the UCD population.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, to appear in the conference proceedings of "A
Universe of Dwarf Galaxies" (Lyon, June 14-18, 2010
Intergalactic Globular Clusters
We confirm and extend our previous detection of a population of intergalactic
globular clusters in Abell 1185, and report the first discovery of an
intergalactic globular cluster in the nearby Virgo cluster of galaxies. The
numbers, colors and luminosities of these objects can place constraints on
their origin, which in turn may yield new insights to the evolution of galaxies
in dense environments.Comment: 2 pages, no figures. Talk presented at JD6, IAU General Assembly XXV,
Sydney, Australia, July 2003, to appear in Highlights of Astronomy, Vol. 1
Compact Group Selection From Redshift Surveys
For the first time, we construct a catalog of compact groups selected from a
complete, magnitude-limited redshift survey. We select groups with
members based on projected separation and association in redshift space alone.
We evaluate the characteristics of the Redshift Survey Compact Groups (RSCG's).
Their physical properties (membership frequency, velocity dispersion, density)
are similar to those of the Hickson [ApJ, 255, 382 (1982)] Compact Groups.
Hickson's isolation criterion is a strong function of the physical and angular
group radii and is a poor predictor of the group environment. In fact, most
RSCG's are embedded in dense environments. The luminosity function for RSCG's
is mildly inconsistent with the survey luminosity function --- the
characteristic luminosity is brighter and the faint end shallower for the RSCG
galaxies. We construct a model of the selection function of compact groups.
Using this selection function, we estimate the abundance of RSCG's; for groups
with members the abundance is . For
all RSCG's () the abundance is .Comment: 41 pages, LaTeX, including 20 figures and 9 tables. Accepted for
publication in The Astronomical Journal. Figures 3 and 4 available at
ftp://cfa0.harvard.edu/outgoing/barto
Globular Cluster Systems and the Missing Satellite Problem: Implications for Cold Dark Matter Models
We analyze the metallicity distributions of globular clusters belonging to 28
early-type galaxies in the survey of Kundu & Whitmore (2001). A Monte Carlo
algorithm which simulates the chemical evolution of galaxies that grow
hierarchically via dissipationless mergers is used to determine the most
probable protogalactic mass function for each galaxy. Contrary to the claims of
Kundu & Whitmore, we find that the observed metallicity distributions are in
close agreement with the predictions of such hierarchical formation models. The
mass spectrum of protogalactic fragments for the galaxies in our sample has a
power-law behavior, with an exponent of roughly -2. This spectrum is
indistinguishable from the mass spectrum of dark matter halos predicted by cold
dark matter models for structure formation. We argue that these protogalactic
fragments, the likely sites of globular cluster formation in the early
universe, are the disrupted remains of the "missing" satellite galaxies
predicted by cold dark matter models. Our findings suggest that the solution to
the missing satellite problem is through the suppression of gas accretion in
low-mass halos after reionization, or via self-interacting dark matter, and
argue against models with suppressed small-scale power or warm dark matter.Comment: 28 pages, 19 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Redshifts for 2410 Galaxies in the Century Survey Region
The `Century Survey' strip covers 102 square degrees within the limits 8.5h
\leq \alpha_{1950} \leq 16.5h, 29.0 degrees \leq \delta_{1950} \leq 30.0
degrees. The strip passes through the Corona Borealis supercluster and the
outer region of the Coma cluster.
Within the Century Survey region, we have measured 2410 redshifts which
constitute four overlapping complete redshift surveys: (1) 1728 galaxies with
Kron-Cousins R_{phot} \leq 16.13 covering the entire strip, (2) 507 galaxies
with R_{phot} \leq 16.4 in the right ascension range 8h 32m \leq \alpha_{1950}
\leq 10h 45m, (3) 1251 galaxies with absorption- and K-corrected R_{CCD, corr}
\leq 16.2 covering the right ascension range 8.5h \leq \alpha_{1950} \leq 13.5h
and (4) 1255 galaxies with absorption- and K-corrected V_{CCD, corr} \leq 16.7
also covering the right ascension range 8.5h \leq \alpha_{1950} \leq 13.5h. All
of these redshift samples are more than 98 % complete to the specified
magnitude limit.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, 2 abbreviated tables. In press, to
appear in Astronomical Journal, Dec. 2001 issu
Cosmic Star Formation History and its Dependence on Galaxy Stellar Mass
We examine the cosmic star formation rate (SFR) and its dependence on galaxy
stellar mass over the redshift range 0.8 < z < 2 using data from the Gemini
Deep Deep Survey (GDDS). The SFR in the most massive galaxies (M > 10^{10.8}
M_sun) was six times higher at z = 2 than it is today. It drops steeply from z
= 2, reaching the present day value at z ~ 1. In contrast, the SFR density of
intermediate mass galaxies (10^{10.2} < M < 10^{10.8} M_sun) declines more
slowly and may peak or plateau at z ~ 1.5. We use the characteristic growth
time t_SFR = rho_M / rho_SFR to provide evidence of an associated transition in
massive galaxies from a burst to a quiescent star formation mode at z ~ 2.
Intermediate mass systems transit from burst to quiescent mode at z ~ 1, while
the lowest mass objects undergo bursts throughout our redshift range. Our
results show unambiguously that the formation era for galaxies was extended and
proceeded from high to low mass systems. The most massive galaxies formed most
of their stars in the first ~3 Gyr of cosmic history. Intermediate mass objects
continued to form their dominant stellar mass for an additional ~2 Gyr, while
the lowest mass systems have been forming over the whole cosmic epoch spanned
by the GDDS. This view of galaxy formation clearly supports `downsizing' in the
SFR where the most massive galaxies form first and galaxy formation proceeds
from larger to smaller mass scales.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ
Evolved Galaxies at z > 1.5 from the Gemini Deep Deep Survey: The Formation Epoch of Massive Stellar Systems
We present spectroscopic evidence from the Gemini Deep Deep Survey (GDDS) for
a significant population of color-selected red galaxies at 1.3 < z < 2.2 whose
integrated light is dominated by evolved stars. Unlike radio-selected objects,
the z > 1.5 old galaxies have a sky density > 0.1 per sq. arcmin. Conservative
age estimates for 20 galaxies with z > 1.3; = 1.49, give a median age of
1.2 Gyr and = 2.4. One quarter of the galaxies have inferred z_f > 4.
Models restricted to abundances less than or equal to solar give median ages
and z_f of 2.3 Gyr and 3.3, respectively. These galaxies are among the most
massive and contribute approximately 50% of the stellar mass density at 1 < z <
2. The derived ages and most probable star formation histories suggest a high
star-formation-rate (300-500 solar masses per year) phase in the progenitor
population. We argue that most of the red galaxies are not descendants of the
typical z=3 Lyman break galaxies. Galaxies associated with luminous sub-mm
sources have the requisite star formation rates to be the progenitor
population. Our results point toward early and rapid formation for a
significant fraction of present day massive galaxies.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, Accepted for publication, ApJ Letter
- …