We performed a large spectroscopic survey of compact, unresolved objects in
the core of the Hydra I galaxy cluster (Abell 1060), with the aim of
identifying ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs), and investigating the
properties of the globular cluster (GC) system around the central cD galaxy NGC
3311. We obtained VIMOS medium resolution spectra of about 1200 candidate
objects with apparent magnitudes 18.5 < V < 24.0 mag, covering both the bright
end of the GC luminosity function and the luminosity range of all known UCDs.
By means of spectroscopic redshift measurements, we identified 118 cluster
members, from which 52 are brighter than M_V = -11.0 mag, and can therefore be
termed UCDs. The brightest UCD in our sample has an absolute magnitude of M_V =
-13.4 mag (corresponding to a mass of > 5 x 10^7 M_sun) and a half-light radius
of 25 pc. This places it among the brightest and most massive UCDs ever
discovered. Most of the GCs/UCDs are both spatially and dynamically associated
to the central cD galaxy. The overall velocity dispersion of the GCs/UCDs is
comparable to what is found for the cluster galaxies. However, when splitting
the sample into a bright and a faint part, we observe a lower velocity
dispersion for the bright UCDs/GCs than for the fainter objects. At a dividing
magnitude of M_V = -10.75 mag, the dispersions differ by more than 200 km/s,
and up to 300 km/s for objects within 5 arcmin around NGC 3311. We interpret
these results in the context of different UCD formation channels, and conclude
that interaction driven formation seems to play an important role in the centre
of Hydra I.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in A&
