Related papers: M87, Globular Clusters, and Galactic Winds: Issues…
The globular cluster population in M87 has decreased measurably through dynamical evolution caused by relaxation, binary heating and time-dependent tidal perturbation. For fundamental plane ellipticals in general, cluster populations evolve…
We examine the dynamics of the stars and globular clusters in the nearby giant galaxy M87 and constrain the mass distribution, using all the available data over a large range of radii, including higher-order moments of the stellar…
The relations between the luminosities $M_{V}$, the metallicities $[Fe/H]$, the Galactocentric radii $R$, and the central concentration indices $c$ of Galactic globular clusters are discussed. It is found that the most luminous clusters…
1057 globular cluster candidates have been identified in a WFPC2 image of the inner region of M87. The Globular Cluster Luminosity Function (GCLF) can be well fit by a Gaussian profile with a mean value of m_V^0=23.67 +/- 0.07 mag and…
We revisit the kinematical data for 204 globular clusters in the halo of M87. Beyond 3 r_eff along the major axis of the galaxy light, these globular clusters exhibit substantial rotation (~ 300 +/- 70 km/s) that translates into an equally…
We have obtained HST/STIS far- and near-UV photometry of globular clusters in four fields in the gE galaxy M87. To a limit of m(FUV) = 25 we detect a total of 66 globular clusters (GCs) in common with the deep HST optical-band study of…
We present an analysis of the globular cluster systems of 28 elliptical galaxies using archival WFPC2 images in the V and I-bands. The V-I color distributions of at least 50% of the galaxies appear to be bimodal {\it at the present level of…
An objective classification of 147 globular clusters in the inner region of the giant elliptical galaxy M87 is carried out with the help of two methods of multivariate analysis. First independent component analysis is used to determine a…
The universality of the globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) contrasts the variation seen in the specific frequency ($S_N$). The variation in $S_N$ has been shown to follow a linear relation with $L_X$ for brightest cluster galaxies…
We have analyzed archival HST/ACS images in Sloan g and z of the globular cluster (GC) systems of 53 ellipticals in the Virgo Cluster, spanning massive galaxies to dEs. Among the new results are: (1) In the gEs M87 and NGC 4649, there is a…
(Abridged): The total populations of globular cluster systems (GCSs) are discussed in terms of their connection to the efficiency of globular cluster formation---the mass fraction of star-forming gas that was able to form bound stellar…
I briefly review models for the formation of globular cluster systems, and summarize the observational properties (i.e., formation efficiencies, metallicity distributions, kinematics and ages) of the globular cluster systems of M87 and M49:…
The fraction of stellar mass contained in globular clusters (GCs), also measured by number as the specific frequency, is a fundamental quantity that reflects both a galaxy's early star formation and its entire merging history. We present…
Globular cluster systems exhibit a bewildering variety of characteristics. No single scenario appears to be able to account for the wide range of specific globular cluster frequencies that are observed in galaxies of various types. The…
Deep HST/WFPC2 (V,I) photometry is used to investigate the globular cluster system (GCS) in NGC 4874, the central cD galaxy of the Coma cluster. The luminosity function of the clusters displays its normal Gaussian-like shape and turnover…
CFHT Megacam data in (g',r',i') are used to obtain deep, wide-field photometry of the globular cluster system (GCS) around M87. A total of 6200 GCs brighter than M_I = -8.5 are included in the study, essentially containing almost the entire…
We study the dynamical evolution of the M87 globular cluster system (GCS) with a number of numerical simulations. We explore a range of different initial conditions for the GCS mass function (GCMF), for the GCS spatial distribution and for…
We present a dynamical analysis of the globular cluster system associated with M87 (= NGC 4486), the cD galaxy near the dynamical center of the Virgo cluster. The analysis utilizes a new spectroscopic and photometric database which is…
We revisit the hypothesis that dense galactic nuclei are formed from inspiraling globular clusters. Recent advances in understanding of the continuous formation of globular clusters over cosmic time and the concurrent evolution of the…
This paper reviews some of the observational properties of globular cluster systems, with a particular focus on those that constrain and inform models of the formation and dynamical evolution of globular cluster systems. I first discuss the…