2004/02/29 by S. Kaviraj, Sugata Kaviraj, Ignacio Ferreras +5 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20041328
published as Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 439, Issue 3, September I 2005, pp.913-919 · replaced with accepted version
openalex publication_date 2005/08/12 · arxiv created 2006/01/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We deduce the globular cluster formation history of the nearby elliptical galaxy, NGC 5128, by using a chemical enrichment model to accurately reproduce its observed metallicity distribution function (MDF). We derive the observed MDF using recently obtained U and B photometry of the NGC 5128 GC system, with used as the metallicity indicator. Our results indicate that the GC system in this galaxy could be the product of two major GC formation episodes. The initial formation episode occured 11–12 Gyr ago creating 65–75 percent of the mass in the GC system. This was followed by a second late formation episode which peaked 2–4 Gyr ago and produced the remaining 25–35 percent of GC mass.