Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2000-08-03
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Revised version accepted by ApJ: expanded Results with new mass models; 26 pages, with 12 inline Postscript figures, LaTeX, aa
Scientific paper
10.1086/320947
We examine the dynamics of the stars and globular clusters in the nearby giant galaxy M87 and constrain the mass distribution, using all the available data over a large range of radii, including higher-order moments of the stellar line-of-sight velocity distributions and the discrete velocities of over two hundred globular clusters. We introduce an extension of spherical orbit modeling methods that makes full use of all the information in the data, and provides very robust constraints on the mass models. We conclusively rule out a constant mass-to-light ratio model, and infer that the radial density profile of the galaxy's dark halo falls off more slowly than 1/r^2, suggesting that the potential of the Virgo Cluster is already dominant at r ~ 300" ~ 20 kpc.
Kochanek Christopher S.
Romanowsky Aaron J.
No associations
LandOfFree
Dynamics of Stars and Globular Clusters in M87 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Dynamics of Stars and Globular Clusters in M87, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Dynamics of Stars and Globular Clusters in M87 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-559893