The Color Distributions of Globular Clusters in Virgo Elliptical Galaxies

Abstract

This Letter presents the color distributions of the globular cluster (GC) systems of 12 Virgo elliptical galaxies, measured using data from the Hubble Space Telescope. Bright galaxies with large numbers of detected GC's show two distinct cluster populations with mean V-I colors near 1.01 and 1.26. The GC population of M86 is a clear exception; its color distribution shows a single sharp peak near V-I=1.03. The absence of the red population in this galaxy, and the consistency of the peak colors in the others, may be indications of the origins of the two populations found in most bright elliptical galaxies.

5 pages, 1 figure, to be published in ApJ Letters Corrections to introduction

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Cited by in corpus (19)

• Globular Cluster Systems I: V-I Color Distributions
• Globular Cluster Systems in Brightest Cluster Galaxies: Bimodal Metallicity Distributions and the Nature of the High-Luminosity Clusters
• Evidence for the Hierarchical Formation of the Galactic Spheroid
• Dynamics of Stars and Globular Clusters in M87
• Globular Cluster Systems in Brightest Cluster Galaxies. III: Beyond Bimodality
• Ages and Metallicities of Globular Clusters in NGC 4472
• Old globular clusters in magellanic-type dwarf irregular galaxies
• A Subaru/Suprime-Cam wide-field survey of globular cluster populations around M87 - II: Colour and spatial distribution
• Massive star clusters in galaxies
• Globular cluster systems II: On the formation of old globular clusters and their sites of formation
• Some Musings on Globular Cluster Systems
• Chandra Study of X-Ray Point Sources in the Early-Type Galaxy NGC 4552 (M89)
• The Globular Cluster Systems in the Coma Ellipticals. I: The Luminosity Function in NGC 4874, and Implications for Hubble's Constant
• The Globular Cluster Systems in the Coma Ellipticals. III: The Unique Case of IC 4051
• Evidence for inhomogeneous reionization in the local Universe from metal-poor globular cluster systems
• A Two-Phase Chemical Enrichment Model for the Milky Way Globular Cluster System
• Globular Cluster Formation in the Virgo Cluster
• The Specific Frequency of Globular Clusters in Galaxies
• Globular Clusters around Galaxies in Groups