2007/08/18 by Bryan W. Miller, Jennifer M. Lotz · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Impact of Light on Environment and Health #Scientific Research and Discoveries #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/522323
53 pages, 13 figures, 12 tables, accepted by the Astrophysical Journal
arxiv created 2007/08/18 · openalex publication_date 2007/12/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The globular cluster luminosity function, specific globular cluster frequency, SN, specific globular cluster mass, TMP, and globular cluster mass fraction in dwarf elliptical galaxies are explored using the full 69 galaxy sample of the HST WFPC2 Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy Snapshot Survey. The GCLFs of the dEs are well-represented with a t5 function with a peak at M 0 V,Z (dE, HST) = −7.3 ± 0.1. This is ∼ 0.3 magnitudes fainter than the GCLF peaks in giant spiral and elliptical galaxies, but the results are consistent within the uncertainties. The bright-end slope of the luminosity distribution has a power-law form with slope α = −1.9 ± 0.1. The trend of increasing SN or TMP with decreasing host galaxy luminosity is confirmed. The mean value for TMP in dE,N galaxies is about a factor of two higher than the mean value for non-nucleated galaxies and the distributions of TMP in dE,N and dE,noN galaxies are statistically different. These data are combined with results from the literature for a wide range of galaxy types and environments. At low host galaxy masses the distribution of TMP for dE,noN and dI galaxies are similar. This supports the idea that one pathway for forming dE,noN galaxies is by the stripping of dIs. The formation of nuclei and the larger values of TMP in dE,N galaxies may be due to higher star formation rates and star cluster formation efficiencies due to interactions in galaxy cluster environments.