Radial Velocities of Globular Clusters in the Giant Elliptical Galaxy NGC 1399

Abstract

We report on the radial velocity measurements of 18 globular clusters and one dE galaxy in the field of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1399, the dominant galaxy of the Fornax cluster. We present also the radial velocity measurements of some candidates for young and super metal-rich globular clusters, which turn out to be foreground or background objects, viz. 28 stars and 7 galaxies. The bonafide globular clusters are selected, on the basis of their magnitudes and colors, to be metal-rich. For this cluster sample we measure a mean radial velocity of v_{rad} = 1353 +/- 79 km/s, and a velocity dispersion of 338 +/- 56 km/s. Using a few different mass estimators, this implies M/L values in the range 50-130 within a radius of 28 kpc, consistent with M/L rising with radius. Our velocity dispersion estimate is intermediate between the value computed from the integrated stellar light at smaller radii, and that computed at large radii from recent X-ray observations.

25 pages (including 6 figures), to be published in The Astronomical Journal (January 1998 issue)

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• On the Origin of Globular Cluster Systems in Elliptical and cD Galaxies
• The Dynamics of the M87 Globular Cluster System
• Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of the Globular Cluster System around NGC 5846

Cited by in corpus (44)

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• The mass distribution in early-type disk galaxies: declining rotation curves and correlations with optical properties
• Internal Properties of Ultra-Compact Dwarf Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster
• Keck Spectroscopy of Globular Clusters around NGC 1399
• Kinematics, ages, and metallicities of star clusters in NGC 1316: A 3 Gyr old merger remnant
• M87, Globular Clusters, and Galactic Winds: Issues in Giant Galaxy Formation
• The orbital structure and potential of NGC 1399
• Ultra Compact Objects in the Fornax Cluster of Galaxies: Globular clusters or dwarf galaxies?
• The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey. XIV. Analysis of Color-Magnitude Relations in Globular Cluster Systems
• On central black holes in ultra-compact dwarf galaxies
• The specific frequencies of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies
• A 3.5-million Solar Masses Black Hole in the Centre of the Ultracompact Dwarf Galaxy Fornax UCD3
• Kinematics of globular cluster systems and the formation of early-type galaxies
• Dynamical evolution of globular cluster systems in clusters of galaxies I. The case of NGC 1404 in the Fornax cluster
• Towards an Understanding of the Globular Cluster Over--abundance around the Central Giant Elliptical NGC 1399
• The Globular Cluster System of M60 (NGC 4649). II. Kinematics of the Globular Cluster System
• Keck Spectroscopy of Candidate Proto-globular Clusters in NGC 1275
• The Transition between Star Clusters and Dwarf Galaxies -- On the existence of a mass-radius relation for star clusters of masses >10^7 Mo: are these objects formed in mergers of stellar systems?
• The Globular Cluster System of the Virgo Giant Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4636: II. Kinematics of the Globular Cluster System
• Globular cluster clustering and tidal features around ultra compact dwarf galaxies in the halo of NGC1399
• Globular cluster candidates within the Fornax Cluster: intracluster globulars?
• The impact of stripped Nuclei on the Super-Massive Black Hole number density in the local Universe
• Kinematics, Abundances, and Origin of Brightest Cluster Galaxies
• Upper limits on the presence of central massive black holes in two ultra-compact dwarf galaxies in Centaurus A
• The Globular Cluster System of NGC 1399: III. VLT Spectroscopy and Database
• Planetary nebulae as mass tracers of their parent galaxies: biases in the estimate of the kinematical quantities
• VLT photometry in the Antlia Cluster: the giant ellipticals NGC 3258 and NGC 3268 and their globular cluster systems
• The Globular Cluster System of M60 (NGC 4649). I. CFHT MOS Spectroscopy and Database
• NGC 1399: a complex dynamical case
• Ultra-Compact Dwarfs around NGC 3258 in Antlia
• Formation of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies: tests of the galaxy threshing scenario in Fornax
• A metal-poor ultra compact dwarf galaxy at a kiloparsec distance from the low-mass elliptical galaxy FCC47
• Capturing the 3D Motion of an Infalling Galaxy via Fluid Dynamics
• Ultra-Compact Dwarfs around NGC 3268
• Is There a Fundamental Upper Limit to the Mass of a Star Cluster?
• The Specific Frequency of Globular Clusters in Galaxies
• On the Formation of Giant Elliptical Galaxies and Globular Clusters
• SUBARU Spectroscopy of the Globular Clusters in the Virgo Giant Elliptical Galaxy M86
• Solar System formation
• The Globular Cluster System of the Virgo Giant Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4636: I. Subaru/FOCAS Spectroscopy and Database
• Formation of Transitional cE/UCD Galaxies through Massive/Dwarf Disc Galaxy Mergers
• Distribution of star formation rates during the rapid assembly of NGC 1399 as deduced from its globular cluster system