We present new B-V color-magnitude diagrams for Fornax globular cluster 3 and the surrounding field where our data reach one magnitude below the horizontal branch which is at V_HB_=21.28. After subtracting the field stars from the cluster CMD, we found no evidence for an intrinsic width of the red giant branch because the scatter is only slightly wider than the photometric errors. We determine that there is an intrinsic width to the horizontal branch because the scatter is larger than the photometric errors. After comparing our data with earlier photometry, we find 7 possible variable stars, both within and outside the instability strip, out of a total of 74 horizontal branch stars. We calculate the horizontal branch type of cluster 3 to be of intermediate color, -0.110+/-0.104, which when compared to Fornax cluster 1, having similar metallicity, suggests a second-parameter pair. Five carbon star candidates identified by Jorgensen & Jimenez (1997, Cat. <J/A+A/317/54>) are marked in the field-subtracted color-magnitude diagram. (c) 1997 American Astronomical Society.
The Fornax cluster provides an unparalleled opportunity of investigating the formation and evolution of early-type galaxies in a dense environment in detail. We aim at kinematically characterising photometrically detected globular cluster (GC) candidates in the core of the cluster. We used VLT/VIMOS spectroscopic data from the FVSS survey in the Fornax cluster, covering one square degree around the central massive galaxy NGC 1399. We confirm a total of 777 GCs, almost doubling previously detected GCs, using the same dataset as was used before. Combined with previous literature radial velocity measurements of GCs in Fornax, we compile the most extensive spectroscopic GC sample of 2341 objects in this environment. We found that red GCs are mostly concentrated around major galaxies, while blue GCs are kinematically irregular and are widely spread throughout the core region of the cluster. The velocity dispersion profiles of blue and red GCs show a quite distinct behaviour. Blue GCs exhibit a sharp increase in the velocity dispersion profile from 250 to 400km/s within 5 arcminutes (~29kpc~1r_eff_ of NGC 1399) from the central galaxy. The velocity dispersion profile of red GCs follows a constant value between 200-300km/s until 8 arcminutes (~46kpc~1.6r_eff_, and then rises to 350km/s at 10 arcminutes (~58kpc~2r_eff_). Beyond 10 arcminutes and out to 40 arcminutes (~230kpc~8r_eff_), blue and red GCs show a constant velocity dispersion of 300+/-50km/s, indicating that both GC populations trace the cluster potential. We kinematically confirm and characterise the previously photometrically discovered overdensities of intra-cluster GCs. We found that these substructured intra-cluster regions in Fornax are dominated mostly by blue GCs.
We have frequency-analyzed 6391 variables classified earlier as fundamental-mode RR Lyrae (RR0) stars in the MACHO database on the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The overwhelming majority (i.e., 96%) of these variables have been proved to be indeed RR0 stars, whereas the remaining ones have fallen into one of the following categories: single- and double-mode Cepheids, binaries, first-overtone and double-mode RR Lyrae stars, and nonclassified variables. Special attention has been paid to the properties of the amplitude- and phase-modulated RR0 stars (the Blazhko stars). We found altogether 731 Blazhko variables showing either a doublet or an equidistant triplet pattern at the main pulsation component in their frequency spectra. This sample overwhelmingly exceeds the number of Blazhko stars known in all other systems combined. The incidence rate of the Blazhko variables among the RR0 stars in the LMC is 11.9%, which is 3 times higher than their rate among the first-overtone RR Lyrae stars. No difference is found in the average brightness between the single-mode and Blazhko variables. However, the latter ones show a somewhat lower degree of skewness in their average light curves and a concomitant lower total amplitude in their modulation-free light curves.
Fundamental parameters and time evolution of mass loss are investigated for post-main-sequence stars in the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104). This is accomplished by fitting spectral energy distributions (SEDs) to existing optical and infrared photometry and spectroscopy, to produce a true Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We confirm the cluster's distance as d=4611^+213^_-200_pc and age as 12+/-1Gyr. Horizontal branch models appear to confirm that no more red giant branch mass loss occurs in 47 Tuc than in the more metal-poor {omega} Centauri, though difficulties arise due to inconsistencies between the models. Using our SEDs, we identify those stars that exhibit infrared excess, finding excess only among the brightest giants: dusty mass loss begins at a luminosity of ~1000L_{sun}_, becoming ubiquitous above L=2000L_{sun}_. Recent claims of dust production around lower-luminosity giants cannot be reproduced, despite using the same archival Spitzer imagery.
We present a reanalysis of far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations of the globular cluster NGC 2808 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. These data were first analyzed by Brown and coworkers (2001, Cat. <J/ApJ/562/368>), with an emphasis on the bright, blue horizontal-branch (HB) stars in this cluster. Here, our focus is on the population of fainter FUV sources, which include white dwarfs (WDs), blue stragglers (BSs), and cataclysmic variables (CVs).
We have established a mixture model approach to derive the parallax of the MilkyWay globular clusters. It avoids the problem of cluster membership determination and provides a completely independent astrometrical solution by purely using the parallax data. This method is validated with simulated clusters of Pancino et al.. We have resolved 120 real globular clusters by the mixture model using parallaxes of the second data release of Gaia. They construct the largest direct parallax sample up to now. In comparison with other direct parallax results based on cluster members, including 75 clusters of Gaia Collaboration, our method presents its accuracy, especially for some particular clusters. A systematic offset of -27.6+/-1.7 uas, together with a scatter of 22.8+/-1.3 uas is found in comparison with other indirect parallax measurements. They are consistent with the global value and the variation of the zero-point of current Gaia parallaxes. Distances of several specific nearby globular clusters are discussed while the closest ones can reach high precisions, even taking the systematic error into account.
The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the outstanding quality of the second data release of the Gaia mission and its power for constraining many different aspects of the dynamics of the satellites of the Milky Way. We focus here on determining the proper motions of 75 Galactic globular clusters, nine dwarf spheroidal galaxies, one ultra-faint system, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Using data extracted from the Gaia archive, we derived the proper motions and parallaxes for these systems, as well as their uncertainties. We demonstrate that the errors, statistical and systematic, are relatively well understood. We integrated the orbits of these objects in three different Galactic potentials, and characterised their properties. We present the derived proper motions, space velocities, and characteristic orbital parameters in various tables to facilitate their use by the astronomical community. Our limited and straightforward analyses have allowed us for example to (i) determine absolute and very precise proper motions for globular clusters; (ii) detect clear rotation signatures in the proper motions of at least five globular clusters; (iii) show that the satellites of the Milky Way are all on high-inclination orbits, but that they do not share a single plane of motion; (iv) derive a lower limit for the mass of the Milky Way of 9.8^+6.7^_-2.7_x10^11^M_{sun}_ based on the assumption that the Leo~I dwarf spheroidal is bound; (v) derive a rotation curve for the Large Magellanic Cloud based solely on proper motions that is competitive with line-of-sight velocity curves, now using many orders of magnitude more sources; and (vi) unveil the dynamical effect of the bar on the motions of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud. All these results highlight the incredible power of the Gaia astrometric mission, and in particular of its second data release.
Tidally stripped galaxy nuclei and luminous globular clusters (GCs) are important tracers of the halos and assembly histories of nearby galaxies, but are difficult to reliably identify with typical ground-based imaging data. In this paper we present a new method to find these massive star clusters using Gaia DR2, focusing on the massive elliptical galaxy Centaurus A (Cen A). We show that stripped nuclei and GCs are partially resolved by Gaia at the distance of Cen A, showing characteristic astrometric and photometric signatures. We use this selection method to produce a list of 632 new candidate luminous clusters in the halo of Cen A out to a projected radius of 150kpc. Adding in broadband photometry and visual examination improves the accuracy of our classification. In a spectroscopic pilot program we have confirmed five new luminous clusters, which includes the 7th and 10th most luminous GC in Cen A. Three of the newly discovered GCs are further away from Cen A than all previously known GCs. Several of these are compelling candidates for stripped nuclei. We show that our novel Gaia selection method retains at least partial utility out to distances of ~25Mpc and hence is a powerful tool for finding and studying star clusters in the sparse outskirts of galaxies in the local universe.
We use 12530 photometrically-selected BHB stars from Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR7 to estimate, the total extinction of the Milky Way in high Galactic latitude, RV and AV in each line of sight. A Bayesian method is developed to estimate the reddening values in the given lines of sight. Based on the most likely values of reddening in multiple colors, we are able to derive the values of RV and AV. We select 94 zero-reddened BHB stars from 7 globular cluster as the template. The reddening in the 4 SDSS colors for the northern Galactic cap are estimated by comparing the field BHB stars with the template stars.
We have derived the mean proper motions and space velocities of 154 Galactic globular clusters and the velocity dispersion profiles of 141 globular clusters based on a combination of Gaia DR2 proper motions with ground-based line-of-sight velocities. Combining the velocity dispersion profiles derived here with new measurements of the internal mass functions allows us to model the internal kinematics of 144 clusters, more than 90 per cent of the currently known Galactic globular cluster population. We also derive the initial cluster masses by calculating the cluster orbits backwards in time applying suitable recipes to account for mass-loss and dynamical friction. We find a correlation between the stellar mass function of a globular cluster and the amount of mass lost from the cluster, pointing to dynamical evolution as one of the mechanisms shaping the mass function of stars in clusters. The mass functions also show strong evidence that globular clusters started with a bottom-light initial mass function. Our simulations show that the currently surviving globular cluster population has lost about 80 per cent of its mass since the time of formation. If globular clusters started from a lognormal mass function, we estimate that the Milky Way contained about 500 globular clusters initially, with a combined mass of about 2.5x10^8^M_{sun}_. For a power-law initial mass function, the initial mass in globular clusters could have been a factor of three higher.
