2006/11/08 by A. D. Mackey, A. Huxor, A. M. N. Ferguson +6 · 7 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Globular cluster #Horizontal branch #Luminosity #Milky Way #Photometry (optics) #Star cluster #Stellar population #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/510670
published as Astrophys.J.653:L105-L108,2006 · 12 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in ApJ Letters
arxiv created 2006/11/08 · openalex publication_date 2006/12/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
A new population of extended, luminous globular clusters has recently been discovered in the outskirts of M31. These objects have luminosities typical of classical globular clusters, but much larger half-light radii. We report the first results from deep ACS imaging of four such clusters, one of which is a newly discovered example lying at a projected distance of ~60 kpc from M31. Our F606W, F814W color-magnitude diagrams extend ~3 mag below the horizontal branch level, and clearly demonstrate, for the first time, that all four clusters are composed of ≳10 Gyr old, metal-poor stellar populations. No evidence for multiple populations is observed. From a comparison with Galactic globular cluster fiducials we estimate metallicities in the range -2.2 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ -1.8. The observed horizontal branch morphologies show a clear second parameter effect between the clusters. Preliminary radial luminosity profiles suggest integrated magnitudes in the range -7.7 ≲ M V ≲ -6.6, near the median value of the globular cluster luminosity function. Our results confirm that these four objects are bona fide old, metal-poor globular clusters, albeit with combined structures and luminosities unlike those observed for any other globular clusters in the Local Group or beyond.