The globular cluster system of NGC 4636: A rich system in an otherwise normal elliptical galaxy?

Details The globular cluster system of NGC 4636: A rich system in an otherwise normal elliptical galaxy? The globular cluster system of NGC 4636: A rich system in an otherwise normal elliptical galaxy?

Jul 1994

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994a%26a...287..463k&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 287, no. 2, p. 463-469

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

31

Astronomical Photometry, Elliptical Galaxies, Globular Clusters, Virgo Galactic Cluster, Density (Mass/Volume), Distance, Light (Visible Radiation), Mass Distribution, Stellar Luminosity

Scientific paper

We investigated the globular cluster system (GCS) of the elliptical galaxy NGC 4636, for which a photographic study by Hanes (1977) already exists. NGC 4636 is situated in a low density outer region of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. We found a quite rich GCS of 3600 +/- 500 globular clusters (GCs). This corresponds to a specific frequency of S = 7.5 +/- 2.0, slightly higher than the average for elliptical galaxies in the Virgo cluster (S approximately equal to 6), but lower than S = 9.9, which has been found by Hanes. Given the uncertainty of absolute S values, we cannot conclude that there is a real scatter of S values among Virgo and Fornax ellipticals. The turnover of the globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) of NGC 4636 is at V = 24.1 +/- 0.1 mag, equivalent to a distance modulus of (m-M) = 31.2 +/- 0.3 mag if we adopt a uniform absolute turnover magnitude for GCLFs in Virgo of -7.1 +/- 0.3 mag. This distance is in good agreement with distances derived by other methods for NGC 4636. As already seen in some other galaxies with rich systems, the density profile of the globular clusters is clearly flatter than the light profile of the galaxy itself. The masses of the globular clusters follow a power law with an exponent similar to what is observed in the Milky Way and M31.

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