Galaxy mass dependence of metal-enrichment of nuclear star clusters

Abstract

Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) are commonly found in galaxy centers, but their dominant formation mechanisms remain elusive. We perform a consistent analysis of stellar populations of 97 nearby NSCs, based on VLT spectroscopic data. The sample covers a galaxy stellar mass range of 10$^{7}$ to 10$^{11}$ M$_{\odot}$ and is more than 3$\times$ larger than any previous studies. We identify three galaxy stellar mass regimes with distinct NSC properties. In the low-mass regime of $\log M_{\rm host}$ $\lesssim$ 8.5, nearly all NSCs have metallicities lower than circum-NSC host but similar to typical red globular clusters (GCs), supporting the GC inspiral-merger scenario of NSC formation. In the high-mass regime of $\log M_{\rm host}$ $\gtrsim$ 9.5, nearly all NSCs have higher metallicities than circum-NSC host and red GCs, suggesting significant contributions from in-situ star formation (SF). In the intermediate-mass regime, a comparable fraction of NSCs have higher or lower metallicities than circum-NSC host and red GCs, with no clear dependence on NSC mass, suggesting intermittent in-situ SF. The majority of NSCs with higher metallicities than their host exhibit a negative age$-$metallicity correlation, providing clear evidence of long-term chemical enrichment. The average NSC$-$host metallicity difference peaks broadly around $\log M_{\rm host} \sim 9.8$ and declines towards both higher and lower galaxy mass. We find that the efficiency of dynamical friction-driven inspiral of GCs observed in present-day galaxies can explain the NSC mass at $\log M_{\rm host} \lesssim 9.5$ but falls short of observed ones at higher galaxy mass, reinforcing our conclusions based on stellar population analysis.