The Dynamical Evolution of the Globular Cluster System of M87

Details The Dynamical Evolution of the Globular Cluster System of M87 The Dynamical Evolution of the Globular Cluster System of M87

Jul 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001hst..prop.9208k&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #9208

Computer Science

Hst Proposal Id #9208 Galaxies

Scientific paper

We propose to undertake a comprehensive, global analysis of the globular cluster luminosity function {GCLF} of the M87 system using the large amounts of high quality, archival WFPC2 data available in the V {F555W, F606W} and I-bands {F814W}. The data set includes both primary WFPC2 programs with a broad range of science goals, and a large component of deep, parallel data. We propose to accurately determine the parameters of the GCLF, continuously from the core of the galaxy out to a galactocentric radius of 75 Kpc. This will allow us to sensitively test for the radial variation in GCLF properties predicted by various destruction mechanisms. By virtue of the very large database of observations and the richness of the M87 globular cluster system {GCS}, our analysis will provide an observational sample that it at least an order of magnitude more sensitive to radial changes in the GCLF than existing data sets. It will almost certainly become the de facto standard against which current and future evolutionary models of cluster systems are tested. Our proposed study will also allow us to quantify the usefulness of the GCLF as a distance indicator. The accurate determination of the radial profile of the cluster system density function will significantly improve the estimate of the total cluster population, and hence the theoretically important cluster formation efficiency in M87.

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