Statistics
Scientific paper
Jul 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001hst..prop.9070b&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #9070
Statistics
Hst Proposal Id #9070 Galaxies
Scientific paper
Recent HST observations have revealed that many spiral galaxies have a prominent star cluster in their dynamical center, but statistics for cluster frequency, size, and luminosity remain incomplete. To fill this gap, we are undertaking a Cycle 9 WFPC2 snapshot survey of a well-defined sample of late-type galaxies. However, imaging data alone cannot yield the age distribution of the clusters, which is needed to clarify whether nuclear cluster formation is a one-time event or a recurrent process. This question is important because a central mass concentration is required for some models of bulge formation. In the few cases where cluster ages could be measured from ground-based spectra, they have been found to be rather young { < 10^7.5 yrs} and metal-rich. The question then is whether nuclear clusters indeed form recurrently, or whether ground-based observations are biased towards the brightest and hence youngest clusters. To address this issue, we will follow up our Cycle 9 imaging program with a snapshot program of low-resolution STIS spectroscopy of the detected clusters. HST's spatial resolution is required to separate the cluster light from the underlying galaxy emission. We will use stellar population synthesis models to infer the age distribution of the clusters, and to constrain their star formation history. The combined Cycle 9 and 10 programs will provide the first systematic census of nuclear star clusters in any class of spirals.
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