SUBARU Spectroscopy of the Globular Clusters in the Virgo Giant Elliptical Galaxy M86

Abstract

We present the first spectroscopic study of the globular clusters (GCs) in the giant elliptical galaxy (gE) M86 in the Virgo cluster. Using spectra obtained in the Multi-Object Spectroscopy (MOS) mode of the Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph (FOCAS) on the Subaru telescope, we measure the radial velocities for 25 GCs in M86. The mean velocity of the GCs is derived to be vp = -354+81 -79 km/s, which is different from the velocity of the M86 nucleus (vgal = -234\pm41 km/s). We estimate the velocity dispersion of the GCs, σp = 292+32-32 km/s, and find a hint of rotation of the M86 GC system. A comparison of the observed velocity dispersion profiles of the GCs and stars with a prediction based on the stellar mass profile strongly suggests the existence of an extended dark matter halo in M86. We also estimate the metallicities and ages for 16 and 8 GCs, respectively. The metallicities of M86 GCs are in the range -2.0 < [Fe/H] < -0.2 with a mean value of -1.13\pm0.47. These GCs show a wide age distribution from 4 to 15 Gyr.

36 pages, 14 figues, Accepted by ApJ

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Cited by in corpus (11)

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• The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. XXXIV. Ultra-Compact Dwarf (UCD) Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster
• To the Edge of M87 and Beyond: Spectroscopy of Intracluster Globular Clusters and Ultra Compact Dwarfs in the Virgo Cluster
• The SLUGGS survey: Probing the supermassive black hole connection with bulges and haloes using red and blue globular cluster systems
• Nonlinear Color-Metallicity Relations of Globular Clusters. VIII. Reproducing Color Distributions of Individual Globular Cluster Systems in the Virgo and Fornax Galaxy Clusters
• Study of gravitational fields and globular cluster systems of early-type galaxies
• The Globular Cluster System of NGC 4636 and Formation of Globular Clusters in Giant Elliptical Galaxies
• Nonlinear Color--Metallicity Relations of Globular Clusters. VI. On Calcium II Triplet Based Metallicities of Globular Clusters in Early-type Galaxies
• A Globular Cluster Toward M87 with a Radial Velocity < -1000 km/s: The First Hypervelocity Cluster
• Substructure in the Globular Cluster Populations of the Virgo Cluster Elliptical Galaxies M84 and M86