Spatial Structures in the Globular Cluster Distribution of Fornax Cluster Galaxies

Abstract

We report the discovery of statistically significant spatial structures in the projected two-dimensional distributions of the Globular Cluster (GC) systems of 10 among the brightest galaxies in the Fornax Cluster. We use a catalog of GCs extracted from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Fornax Cluster Survey (ACSFCS) imaging data. We characterize the size, shape and location relative to the host galaxies of the GC structures and suggest a classification based on their morphology and location that is suggestive of different formation mechanisms. We also investigate the GC structures in the context of the positions of their host galaxies relative to the general spatial distributions of galaxies and intra-cluster globular clusters in the Fornax Cluster. We finally estimate the dynamical masses of the progenitors of some GC structures, under the assumption that they are the relics of past accretion events of satellite galaxies by their hosts.

arXiv comment40 pages, 26 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

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