Mapping the galaxy NGC 4486 (M87) through its Globular Cluster System

Abstract

As shown in previous works, globular clusters can be used to trace the overall structure of the diffuse stellar populations in early type galaxies if the number of clusters per unit stellar mass depends on metallicity. In this paper we further test this assumption in the galaxy NGC 4486 (M 87), by combining several data sources. The results show that globular clusters allow the mapping of the galaxy in terms of the surface brightness profile, integrated colour gradient, chemical abundance, and mass to luminosity ratios up to 1000 arcsec (or 80.4 kpc) from its centre (i.e. some 10 effective radii). The analysis indicates the presence of a dominant high metallicity bulge associated with the red globulars, whose ellipticity increases outwards, and of a more flattened low metallicity halo connected with the blue globulars. The chemical abundance gradient of the composite stellar population is remarkably similar to that inferred from X ray observations of hot gas. The mass-metallicity spectrum of the stellar population can, in principle, be understood in terms of inhomogeneous enrichment models. In turn, the distribution of the bluest GCs, and lowest metallicity halo stars, has an intriguing similarity with that of dark matter, a feature shared with NGC 1399. Also, in these two galaxies, the number of blue GCs per dark mass unit is identical within the errors, \approx 1.0(\pm0.3) \times 10^{-9} . The total stellar mass derived for NGC 4486 is 6.8(\pm1.1) \times 10^{11} M\odot with a baryonic mass fraction fb = 0.08(\pm 0.01).

18 pages, 23 figures

References in corpus (17)

• The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey XV. The Formation Efficiencies of Globular Clusters in Early-Type Galaxies: The Effects of Mass and Environment
• The Black Hole Mass, Stellar M/L, and Dark Halo in M87
• The Importance of Mergers for the Origin of Intracluster Stars in Cosmological Simulations of Galaxy Clusters
• Wide-Field Precision Kinematics of the M87 Globular Cluster System
• Intracluster light and the extended stellar envelopes of cD galaxies: An analytical description
• The Globular Cluster Luminosity Function and Specific Frequency in Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies
• The Metallicity Distribution of Intracluster Stars in Virgo
• A 2dF spectroscopic study of globular clusters in NGC 5128: Probing the formation history of the nearest giant Elliptical
• Gemini/GMOS Imaging of Globular Cluster Systems in Five Early-type Galaxies
• The origin of globular cluster systems from cosmological simulations
• The Age, Metallicity and Alpha-Element Abundance of Galactic Globular Clusters from Single Stellar Population Models
• On The Origin of the Blue Tilt in Extragalactic Globular Cluster Systems
• A Quantitative Link Between Globular Clusters and the Stellar Halos in Elliptical Galaxies
• Gemini/GMOS Spectroscopy of the Spheroid and Globular Cluster System of NGC 3923
• A Subaru/Suprime-Cam wide-field survey of globular cluster populations around M87 - II: Colour and spatial distribution
• Nonlinear Color-Metallicity Relations of Globular Clusters. III. On the Discrepancy in Metallicity between Globular Cluster Systems and their Parent Elliptical Galaxies
• Spectra of globular clusters in the Sombrero galaxy: evidence for spectroscopic metallicity bimodality

Cited by in corpus (26)

• Paving the way for the JWST: witnessing globular cluster formation at z>3
• The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. VIII. The Spatial Distribution of Globular Clusters in the Virgo Cluster
• The outer halo globular cluster system of M31 - I. The final PAndAS catalogue
• The Baryonic Halos of Elliptical Galaxies: Radial Distribution of Globular Clusters and Diffuse Hot Gas
• The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. VI. The Kinematics of Ultra-compact Dwarfs and Globular Clusters in M87
• Understanding black hole mass assembly via accretion and mergers at late times in cosmological simulations
• The SLUGGS Survey: The globular cluster systems of three early-type galaxies using wide-field imaging
• The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. X. Properties of Ultra-Compact Dwarfs in the M87, M49 and M60 Regions
• Metallicity gradients in the globular cluster systems of early-type galaxies: In-situ and accreted components?
• The SLUGGS Survey: Wide Field Imaging of the Globular Cluster System of NGC 4278
• Age and metallicity gradients support hierarchical formation for M87
• Dynamical Models of Elliptical Galaxies -- II. M87 and its Globular Clusters
• The Rising Stellar Velocity Dispersion of M87 from Integrated Starlight
• The SLUGGS survey: Exploring the globular cluster systems of the Leo II group and their global relationships
• I- A hydrodynamical CLONE of the Virgo cluster of galaxies to confirm observationally-driven formation scenarios
• Nonlinear Color-Metallicity Relations of Globular Clusters. VIII. Reproducing Color Distributions of Individual Globular Cluster Systems in the Virgo and Fornax Galaxy Clusters
• Multicolour-metallicity Relations from Globular Clusters in NGC 4486 (M87)
• Tracing the Assembly History of NGC 1395 through its Globular Cluster System
• The innermost globular clusters of M87
• Globular Clusters: DNA of Early-Type galaxies?
• Nonlinear Color-Metallicity Relations of Globular Clusters. IV. Testing the Nonlinearity Scenario for Color Bimodality via HST/WFC3 u-band Photometry of M84 (NGC 4374)
• Supra-galactic Colour Patterns in Globular Cluster Systems
• A Supra-galactic Conundrum: The Globular Clusters Colour Pattern in Virgo Galaxies
• Observational Signatures of Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Merger Remnants
• Nonlinear Color-Metallicity Relations of Globular Clusters. IX. Different Radial Number Density Profiles between Blue and Red Clusters
• The Color Gradients of the Globular Cluster Systems in M87 and M49