Globular Cluster Systems of Elliptical Galaxies in Low Density Environments

Details Globular Cluster Systems of Elliptical Galaxies in Low Density Environments Globular Cluster Systems of Elliptical Galaxies in Low Density Environments

Jul 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005hst..prop10554s&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #10554

Computer Science

Hst Proposal Id #10554 Galaxies

Scientific paper

We propose to use the ACS/WFC to determine colour {metallicity} distributions and luminosity functions for the globular cluster populations in a well-defined sample of elliptical galaxies in low-density environments, and to compare the results with similar samples taken from a rich cluster environment. Low-luminosity ellipticals are now recognized to play a pivotal role in testing hierarchical models of galaxy formation, and their globular cluster populations provide a unique probe of their star formation and metal enrichment history. The data will be used to {i} determine whether the bimodal colour distributions indicative of multiple formation epochs in luminous ellipticals are also prevalent in low-luminosity field ellipticals; {ii} place joint constraints on age and metallicity in systems with more than one population and determine the spread of ages in any one system; {iii} test whether cluster destruction processes {e.g. tidal shocking} are more effective in low-luminosity ellipticals, as predicted from their higher mass densities. ACS observations are essential to eliminate foreground/background contamination and to probe deep into the luminosity function to obtain a good statistical sample of clusters. The TAC has previously awarded HST time to two large surveys of globular cluster systems in rich cluster environments, but there is currently no comparable survey in low-density environments with which to compare these results.

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