Related papers: Two formation paths for cluster dwarf galaxies?
We present integral field spectroscopy observations of two star-forming dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster (VCC135 and VCC324) obtained with PMAS/PPak at the Calar Alto 3.5 meter telescope. We derive metallicity maps using the N2 empirical…
The majority of the globular clusters associated with the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy are faint. In this respect it differs significantly from the globular cluster systems surrounding typical giant galaxies. The observation that most of…
We present the luminosity function (LF) and measurements of the scalelengths, colours, and radial distribution of dwarf galaxies in the Coma cluster down to R=24. Our survey area is 674 arcmin^2; this is the deepest and most detailed survey…
Dwarf galaxies can have very high globular cluster specific frequencies, and the GCs are in general significantly more metal-poor than the bulk of the field stars. In some dwarfs, such as Fornax, WLM, and IKN, the fraction of metal-poor…
We derived the luminosity function (LF) of dwarf galaxies in the Coma Cluster down to M_R=-10 at three fields located at the center, intermediate, and outskirt. The LF (-19<M_R<-10) shows no significant differences among the three fields.…
We study the dwarf galaxy population in the central ~700 arcmin^2 of the Coma cluster, the majority of which are early-type dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies. Analysis of the statistically-decontaminated dE galaxy sequence in the…
We present a suite of extragalactic explorations of the origins and nature of globular clusters (GCs) and ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs), and the connections between them. An example of GC metallicity bimodality is shown to reflect underlying,…
The Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy is well known for its very high globular cluster specific frequency, SN=26. Furthermore, while the field star metallicity distribution peaks at [Fe/H]=-1, four of the five GCs have [Fe/H]<-2. Only about 5…
Globular cluster systems in most large galaxies display bimodal color and metallicity distributions, which are frequently interpreted as indicating two distinct modes of cluster formation. The metal-rich (red) and metal-poor (blue) clusters…
The galaxy correlation function serves as a fundamental tool for studying cosmology, galaxy formation, and the nature of dark matter. It is well established that more massive, redder and more compact galaxies tend to have stronger…
(Abridged) We build a theoretical model to study the origin of the globular cluster metallicity bimodality in the hierarchical galaxy assembly scenario, based on the observed galaxy mass-[O/H] relation and the galaxy stellar mass function…
We demonstrate a significant (> 5-sigma) correlation between the mean color of metal-poor globular cluster (GC) systems and parent galaxy luminosity. A Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method is introduced to find the mean color, and is…
The possibility that the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal might have formed as a Searle-Zinn fragment in the outer halo of the Galaxy is discussed. Arguments in favor of this hypothesis are: (1) The luminosity distribution of globular clusters…
This review presents the results of ongoing studies of the formation histories of metal-poor and metal-rich globular clusters and their host galaxies. I first discuss the strong observational evidence that the globular cluster systems of…
Over the past five years, searches in Sloan Digital Sky Survey data have more than doubled the number of known dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, and have revealed a population of ultra-faint galaxies with luminosities smaller than…
We observed 5 Hickson Compact Groups with the ESO/MPI 2.2m telescope and WFI to investigate the dwarf galaxy content and distribution in these galaxy groups. Our deep imaging and careful selection of the candidate galaxies revealed a rich…
We studied the morphology of star formation in dwarf irregular galaxies and found that, in general, this takes place on one side of a galaxy and far from the center. This is mainly true for low surface brightness galaxies; in high surface…
Star clusters are fundamental building blocks of galaxies. Their formation is related to the density and pressure in progenitor molecular clouds and their environmental conditions. To understand better the dynamical processes driving star…
Recent observations show that the number of stars with very low metallicities in the dwarf spheroidal satellites of the Milky Way is low, despite the low average metallicities of stars in these systems. We undertake numerical simulations of…
The luminosity distribution of globular clusters shows a dramatic dependence on parent galaxy luminosity. Dwarf galaxies contain far more faint globulars than do luminous galaxies. This difference is significant at the 99.7% level. On the…