arXiv subjects

Christopher Usher

Publications and source records attributed to Christopher Usher.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

The WAGGS project - II. The reliability of the calcium triplet as a metallicity indicator in integrated stellar light

Using data from the WiFeS Atlas of Galactic Globular cluster Spectra we study the behaviour of the calcium triplet (CaT), a popular metallicity indicator in extragalactic stellar population studies. A major caveat of these studies is that the potential sensitivity to other stellar population parameters such as age, calcium abundance and the initial mass function has not yet been empirically evaluated. Here we present measurements of the strength of the CaT feature for 113 globular clusters in the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies. We derive empirical calibrations between the CaT index and both the iron abundance ([Fe/H]) and calcium abundance ([Ca/H]), finding a tighter relationship for [Ca/H] than for [Fe/H]. For stellar populations 3 Gyr and older the CaT can be used to reliably measure [Ca/H] at the 0.1 dex level but becomes less reliable for ages of $\sim 2$ Gyr and younger. We find that the CaT is relatively insensitive to the horizontal branch morphology. The stellar mass function however affects the CaT strengths significantly only at low metallicities. Using our newly derived empirical calibration, we convert our measured CaT indices into [Ca/H] values for the globular clusters in our sample.

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arXiv2018

Cluster kinematics and stellar rotation in NGC 419 with MUSE and adaptive optics

We present adaptive optics (AO) assisted integral-field spectroscopy of the intermediate-age star cluster NGC 419 in the Small Magellanic Cloud. By investigating the cluster dynamics and the rotation properties of main sequence turn-off stars (MSTO), we demonstrate the power of AO-fed MUSE observations for this class of objects. Based on 1 049 radial velocity measurements, we determine a dynamical cluster mass of 1.4+/-0.2x10^5 M_sun and a dynamical mass-to-light ratio of 0.67+/-0.08, marginally higher than simple stellar population predictions for a Kroupa initial mass function. A stacking analysis of spectra at both sides of the extended MSTO reveals significant rotational broadening. Our analysis further provides tentative evidence that red MSTO stars rotate faster than their blue counterparts. We find average V sin i values of 87+/-16 km/s and 130+/-22 km/s for blue and red MSTO stars, respectively. Potential systematic effects due to the low spectral resolution of MUSE can reach 30 km/s but the difference in V sin i between the populations is unlikely to be affected.

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arXiv2018

The origin of the 'blue tilt' of globular cluster populations in the E-MOSAICS simulations

The metal-poor sub-population of globular cluster (GC) systems exhibits a correlation between the GC average colour and luminosity, especially in those systems associated with massive elliptical galaxies. More luminous (more massive) GCs are typically redder and hence more metal-rich. This 'blue tilt' is often interpreted as a mass-metallicity relation stemming from GC self-enrichment, whereby more massive GCs retain a greater fraction of the enriched gas ejected by their evolving stars, fostering the formation of more metal-rich secondary generations. We examine the E-MOSAICS simulations of the formation and evolution of galaxies and their GC populations, and find that their GCs exhibit a colour-luminosity relation similar to that observed in local galaxies, without the need to invoke mass-dependent self-enrichment. We find that the blue tilt is most appropriately interpreted as a dearth of massive, metal-poor GCs: the formation of massive GCs requires high interstellar gas surface densities, conditions that are most commonly fostered by the most massive, and hence most metal rich, galaxies, at the peak epoch of GC formation. The blue tilt is therefore a consequence of the intimate coupling between the small-scale physics of GC formation and the evolving properties of interstellar gas hosted by hierarchically-assembling galaxies.

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arXiv2018

Multiple populations within globular clusters in Early-type galaxies Exploring their effect on stellar initial mass function estimates

It is now well-established that most (if not all) ancient globular clusters host multiple popula- tions, that are characterised by distinct chemical features such as helium abundance variations along with N-C and Na-O anti-correlations, at fixed [Fe/H]. These very distinct chemical fea- tures are similar to what is found in the centres of the massive early-type galaxies and may influence measurements of the global properties of the galaxies. Additionally, recent results have suggested that M/L variations found in the centres of massive early-type galaxies might be due to a bottom-heavy stellar initial mass function. We present an analysis of the effects of globular cluster-like multiple populations on the integrated properties of early-type galaxies. In particular, we focus on spectral features in the integrated optical spectrum and the global mass-to-light ratio that have been used to infer variations in the stellar initial mass function. To achieve this we develop appropriate stellar population synthesis models and take into account, for the first time, an initial-final mass relation which takes into consideration a varying He abundance. We conclude that while the multiple populations may be present in massive early-type galaxies, they are likely not responsible for the observed variations in the mass- to-light ratio and IMF sensitive line strengths. Finally, we estimate the fraction of stars with multiple populations chemistry that come from disrupted globular clusters within massive ellipticals and find that they may explain some of the observed chemical patterns in the centres of these galaxies.

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arXiv2017

The SLUGGS Survey: Dark matter fractions at large radii and assembly epochs of early-type galaxies from globular cluster kinematics

We use globular cluster kinematics data, primarily from the SLUGGS survey, to measure the dark matter fraction ($f_{\rm DM}$) and the average dark matter density ($\left< ρ_{\rm DM} \right>$) within the inner 5 effective radii ($R_{\rm e}$) for 32 nearby early--type galaxies (ETGs) with stellar mass log $(M_*/\rm M_\odot)$ ranging from $10.1$ to $11.8$. We compare our results with a simple galaxy model based on scaling relations as well as with cosmological hydrodynamical simulations where the dark matter profile has been modified through various physical processes. We find a high $f_{\rm DM}$ ($\geq0.6$) within 5~$R_{\rm e}$ in most of our sample, which we interpret as a signature of a late mass assembly history that is largely devoid of gas-rich major mergers. However, around log $(M_*/M_\odot) \sim 11$, there is a wide range of $f_{\rm DM}$ which may be challenging to explain with any single cosmological model. We find tentative evidence that lenticulars (S0s), unlike ellipticals, have mass distributions that are similar to spiral galaxies, with decreasing $f_{\rm DM}$ within 5~$R_{\rm e}$ as galaxy luminosity increases. However, we do not find any difference between the $\left< ρ_{\rm DM} \right>$ of S0s and ellipticals in our sample, despite the differences in their stellar populations. We have also used $\left< ρ_{\rm DM} \right>$ to infer the epoch of halo assembly ($z{\sim}2-4$). By comparing the age of their central stars with the inferred epoch of halo formation, we are able to gain more insight into their mass assembly histories. Our results suggest a fundamental difference in the dominant late-phase mass assembly channel between lenticulars and elliptical galaxies.

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arXiv2017

The WAGGS project - I. The WiFeS Atlas of Galactic Globular cluster Spectra

We present the WiFeS Atlas of Galactic Globular cluster Spectra, a library of integrated spectra of Milky Way and Local Group globular clusters. We used the WiFeS integral field spectrograph on the Australian National University 2.3 m telescope to observe the central regions of 64 Milky Way globular clusters and 22 globular clusters hosted by the Milky Way's low mass satellite galaxies. The spectra have wider wavelength coverage (3300 Å to 9050 Å) and higher spectral resolution (R = 6800) than existing spectral libraries of Milky Way globular clusters. By including Large and Small Magellanic Cloud star clusters, we extend the coverage of parameter space of existing libraries towards young and intermediate ages. While testing stellar population synthesis models and analysis techniques is the main aim of this library, the observations may also further our understanding of the stellar populations of Local Group globular clusters and make possible the direct comparison of extragalactic globular cluster integrated light observations with well understood globular clusters in the Milky Way. The integrated spectra are publicly available via the project website.

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arXiv2017

The SLUGGS Survey: a catalog of over 4000 globular cluster radial velocities in 27 nearby early-type galaxies

Here we present positions and radial velocities for over 4000 globular clusters (GCs) in 27 nearby early-type galaxies from the SLUGGS survey. The SLUGGS survey is designed to be representative of elliptical and lenticular galaxies in the stellar mass range 10 $<$ log M$_{\ast}$/M$_{\odot}$ $<$ 11.7. The data have been obtained over many years, mostly using the very stable multi-object spectrograph DEIMOS on the Keck II 10m telescope. Radial velocities are measured using the calcium triplet lines with a velocity accuracy of $\pm$ 10-15 km/s. We use phase space diagrams (i.e. velocity--position diagrams) to identify contaminants such as foreground stars and background galaxies, and to show that the contribution of GCs from neighboring galaxies is generally insignificant. Likely ultra-compact dwarfs are tabulated separately. We find that the mean velocity of the GC system is close to that of the host galaxy systemic velocity, indicating that the GC system is in overall dynamical equilibrium within the galaxy potential. We also find that the GC system velocity dispersion scales with host galaxy stellar mass in a similar manner to the Faber-Jackson relation for the stellar velocity dispersion. Publication of these GC radial velocity catalogs should enable further studies in many areas, such as GC system substructure, kinematics, and host galaxy mass measurements.

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arXiv2016

The SLUGGS Survey: stellar masses and effective radii of early-type galaxies from Spitzer Space Telescope 3.6$μ$m imaging

Galaxy starlight at 3.6$μ$m is an excellent tracer of stellar mass. Here we use the latest 3.6$μ$m imaging from the Spitzer Space Telescope to measure the total stellar mass and effective radii in a homogeneous way for a sample of galaxies from the SLUGGS survey. These galaxies are representative of nearby early-type galaxies in the stellar mass range of 10 $<$ log M$_{\ast}$/M$_{\odot}$ $<$ 11.7, and our methodology can be applied to other samples of early-type galaxies. We model each galaxy in 2D and estimate its total asymptotic magnitude from a 1D curve-of-growth. Magnitudes are converted into stellar masses using a 3.6$μ$m mass-to-light ratio from the latest stellar population models of Röck et al., assuming a Kroupa IMF. We apply a ratio based on each galaxy's mean mass-weighted stellar age within one effective radius (the mass-to-light ratio is insensitive to galaxy metallicity for the generally old stellar ages and high metallicities found in massive early-type galaxies). Our 3.6$μ$m stellar masses agree well with masses derived from 2.2$μ$m data. From the 1D surface brightness profile we fit a single Sersic law, excluding the very central regions. We measure the effective radius, Sersic n parameter and effective surface brightness for each galaxy. We find that galaxy sizes derived from shallow optical imaging and the 2MASS survey tend to underestimate the true size of the largest, most massive galaxies in our sample. We adopt the 3.6$μ$m stellar masses and effective radii for the SLUGGS survey galaxies.

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arXiv2016

The SLUGGS Survey: The mass distribution in early-type galaxies within five effective radii and beyond

We study mass distributions within and beyond 5~effective radii ($R_{\rm e}$) in 23 early-type galaxies from the SLUGGS survey, using their globular cluster (GC) kinematic data. The data are obtained with Keck/DEIMOS spectrograph, and consist of line-of-sight velocities for ~$3500$ GCs, measured with a high precision of ~15 $\rm km\ s^{-1}$ per GC and extending out to $~13 R_{\rm e}$. We obtain the mass distribution in each galaxy using the tracer mass estimator of Watkins et al. and account for kinematic substructures, rotation of the GC systems and galaxy flattening in our mass estimates. The observed scatter between our mass estimates and results from the literature is less than 0.2 dex. The dark matter fraction within $5R_{\rm e}$ ($f_{\rm DM}$) increases from ~$0.6$ to ~$0.8$ for low- and high-mass galaxies, respectively, with some intermediate-mass galaxies ($M_*{\sim}10^{11}M_\odot$) having low $f_{\rm DM}\sim0.3$, which appears at odds with predictions from simple galaxy models. We show that these results are independent of the adopted orbital anisotropy, stellar mass-to-light ratio, and the assumed slope of the gravitational potential. However, the low $f_{\rm DM}$ in the ~$10^{11}M_\odot$ galaxies agrees with the cosmological simulations of Wu et al. where the pristine dark matter distribution has been modified by baryons during the galaxy assembly process. We find hints that these $M_*\sim10^{11}M_\odot$ galaxies with low $f_{\rm DM}$ have very diffuse dark matter haloes, implying that they assembled late. Beyond $5R_{\rm e}$, the $M/L$ gradients are steeper in the more massive galaxies and shallower in both low and intermediate mass galaxies.

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arXiv2016

The SLUGGS Survey: globular clusters and the dark matter content of early-type galaxies

A strong correlation exists between the total mass of a globular cluster (GC) system and the virial halo mass of the host galaxy. However, the total halo mass in this correlation is a statistical measure conducted on spatial scales that are some ten times that of a typical GC system. Here we investigate the connection between GC systems and galaxy's dark matter on comparable spatial scales, using dynamical masses measured on a galaxy-by-galaxy basis. Our sample consists of 17 well-studied massive (stellar mass $\sim$10$^{11}$ M$_{\odot}$) early-type galaxies from the SLUGGS survey. We find the strongest correlation to be that of the blue (metal-poor) GC subpopulation and the dark matter content. This correlation implies that the dark matter mass of a galaxy can be estimated to within a factor of two from careful imaging of its GC system. The ratio of the GC system mass to that of the enclosed dark matter is nearly constant. We also find a strong correlation between the fraction of blue GCs and the fraction of enclosed dark matter, so that a typical galaxy with a blue GC fraction of 60 per cent has a dark matter fraction of 86 per cent over similar spatial scales. Both halo growth and removal (via tidal stripping) may play some role in shaping this trend. In the context of the two-phase model for galaxy formation, we find galaxies with the highest fractions of accreted stars to have higher dark matter fractions for a given fraction of blue GCs.

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arXiv2016

The SLUGGS Survey: The Assembly Histories of Individual Early-type Galaxies

Early-type (E and S0) galaxies may have assembled via a variety of different evolutionary pathways. Here we investigate these pathways by comparing the stellar kinematic properties of 24 early-type galaxies from the SLUGGS survey with the hydrodynamical simulations of Naab et al. (2014). In particular, we use the kinematics of starlight up to 4 effective radii (R$_e$) as diagnostics of galaxy inner and outer regions, and assign each galaxy to one of six Naab et al. assembly classes. The majority of our galaxies (14/24) have kinematic characteristics that indicate an assembly history dominated by gradual gas dissipation and accretion of many gas-rich minor mergers. Three galaxies, all S0s, indicate that they have experienced gas-rich major mergers in their more recent past. One additional elliptical galaxy is tentatively associated with a gas-rich merger which results in a remnant galaxy with low angular momentum. Pathways dominated by gas-poor (major or minor) mergers dominate the mass growth of six galaxies. Most SLUGGS galaxies appear to have grown in mass (and size) via the accretion of stars and gas from minor mergers, with late major mergers playing a much smaller role. We find that the fraction of accreted stars correlates with the stellar mean age and metallicity gradient, but not with the slope of the total mass density profile. We briefly mention future observational and modelling approaches that will enhance our ability to accurately reconstruct the assembly histories of individual present day galaxies.

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arXiv2015

The SLUGGS Survey: stellar kinematics, kinemetry and trends at large radii in 25 early-type galaxies

Due to longer dynamical timescales, the outskirts of early-type galaxies retain the footprint of their formation and assembly. Under the popular two-phase galaxy formation scenario, an initial in-situ phase of star formation is followed by minor merging and accretion of ex-situ stars leading to the expectation of observable transitions in the kinematics and stellar populations on large scales. However, observing the faint galactic outskirts is challenging, often leaving the transition unexplored. The large scale, spatially-resolved stellar kinematic data from the SAGES Legacy Unifying Galaxies and GlobularS (SLUGGS) survey are ideal for detecting kinematic transitions. We present kinematic maps out to 2.6 effective radii on average, kinemetry profiles, measurement of kinematic twists and misalignments, and the average outer intrinsic shape of 25 SLUGGS galaxies. We find good overall agreement in the kinematic maps and kinemetry radial profiles with literature. We are able to confirm significant radial modulations in rotational versus pressure support of galaxies with radius so that the central and outer rotational properties may be quite different. We also test the suggestion that galaxies may be more triaxial in their outskirts and find that while fast rotating galaxies were already shown to be axisymmetric in their inner regions, we are unable to rule out triaxiality in their outskirts. We compare our derived outer kinematic information to model predictions from a two-phase galaxy formation scenario. We find that the theoretical range of local outer angular momentum agrees well with our observations, but that radial modulations are much smaller than predicted.

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arXiv2015

The SLUGGS Survey: Globular cluster kinematics in a "double sigma" galaxy - NGC 4473

NGC 4473 is a so--called double sigma (2$σ$) galaxy, i.e. a galaxy with rare, double peaks in its 2D stellar velocity dispersion. Here, we present the globular cluster (GC) kinematics in NGC 4473 out to $\sim10\,R_e$ (effective radii) using data from combined HST/ACS and Subaru/Suprime--Cam imaging and Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy. We find that the 2$σ$ nature of NGC 4473 persists up to 3 $R_e$, though it becomes misaligned to the photometric major axis. We also observe a significant offset between the stellar and GC rotation amplitudes. This offset can be understood as a co--addition of counter--rotating stars producing little net stellar rotation. We identify a sharp radial transition in the GC kinematics at $\sim4\,R_e$ suggesting a well defined kinematically distinct halo. In the inner region ($<4\,R_e$), the blue GCs rotate along the photometric major axis, but in an opposite direction to the galaxy stars and red GCs. In the outer region ($>4\,R_e$), the red GCs rotate in an opposite direction compared to the inner region red GCs, along the photometric major axis, while the blue GCs rotate along an axis intermediate between the major and minor photometric axes. We also find a kinematically distinct population of very red GCs in the inner region with elevated rotation amplitude and velocity dispersion. The multiple kinematic components in NGC 4473 highlight the complex formation and evolutionary history of this 2$σ$ galaxy, as well as a distinct transition between the inner and outer components.

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arXiv2015

The SLUGGS survey: inferring the formation epochs of metal-poor and metal-rich globular clusters

We present a novel, observationally-based framework for the formation epochs and sites of globular clusters (GCs) in a cosmological context. Measuring directly the mean ages of the metal-poor and metal-rich GC subpopulations in our own Galaxy, and in other galaxies, is observationally challenging. Here we apply an alternative approach utilising the property that the galaxy mass-metallicity relation is a strong function of redshift (or look-back age) but is relatively insensitive to galaxy mass for massive galaxies. Assuming that GCs follow galaxy mass-metallicity relations that evolve with redshift, one can estimate the mean formation epochs of the two GC subpopulations by knowing their mean metallicities and the growth in host galaxy mass with redshift. Recently, the SLUGGS survey has measured the spectroscopic metallicities for over 1000 GCs in a dozen massive early-type galaxies. Here we use these measurements, and our new metallicity matching method, to infer a mean age for metal-rich GCs of 11.5 Gyr (z = 2.9) and a range of 12.2 to 12.8 Gyr (4.8 < z < 5.9) for the metal- poor GCs, depending on whether they mostly formed in accreted satellites or in-situ within the main host galaxy. We compare our values to direct age measurements for Milky Way GCs and predictions from cosmological models. Our findings suggest that reionisation preceded most GC formation, and that it is unlikely to be the cause of GC bimodal metallicity distributions.

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arXiv2015

The SLUGGS survey: Combining stellar and globular cluster metallicities in the outer regions of early-type galaxies

The outer halo regions of early-type galaxies carry key information about their past accretion history. However, spectroscopically probing the stellar component at such galactocentric radii is still challenging. Using Keck/DEIMOS, we have been able to measure the metallicities of the stellar and globular cluster components in 12 early-type galaxies out to more than $10~\rm{R_{e}}$. We find similar metallicity gradients for the metal-poor and metal-rich globular cluster subpopulations, suggesting a common formation process for the two subpopulations. This is in conflict with most current theoretical predictions, where the metal-poor globular clusters are thought to be purely accreted and metal-rich globular clusters mostly formed in-situ. Moreover, we find that the globular cluster metallicity gradients show a trend with galaxy mass, being steeper in lower-mass galaxies than in higher-mass galaxies. This is similar to what we find for the outermost galaxy stars and suggests a more active accretion history, with a larger role played by major mergers, in the most massive galaxies. This conclusion is qualitatively consistent with expectations from two-phase galaxy assembly models. Finally, we find that the small difference in metallicity between galaxy stars and metal-rich globular clusters at $1~\rm{R_{e}}$ may correlate with galaxy mass. The origin of this difference is not currently clear.

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arXiv2015

Small scatter and nearly-isothermal mass profiles to four half-light radii from two-dimensional stellar dynamics of early-type galaxies

We study the total mass-density profile for a sample of 14 fast-rotator early-type galaxies (stellar masses $10.2<\log M_\ast/M_\odot<11.7$). We combine observations from the SLUGGS and Atlas3D surveys to map out the stellar kinematics in two-dimensions, out to a median radius for the sample of four half-light radii $R_e$ (or 10 kpc), and a maximum radius of 2.0-6.2 $R_e$ (or 4-21 kpc). We use axisymmetric dynamical models based on the Jeans equations, which allow for a spatially varying anisotropy, and employ quite general profiles for the dark halos, and in particular do not place any restriction on the profile slope. This is made possible by the availability of spatially extended two-dimensional kinematics. We find that our relatively simple models provide a remarkably good description of the observed kinematics. The resulting total density profiles are well described by a nearly-isothermal power law $ρ_{\rm tot}(r)\propto r^{-γ}$ from $R_e$/10 to at least 4$R_e$, the largest average deviation being 11%. The average logarithmic slope is $\langleγ\rangle=2.19\pm0.03$ with observed rms scatter of just $σ_γ=0.11$. This scatter out to large radii, where dark matter dominates, is as small as previously reported by lensing studies around $r\approx R_e/2$, where the stars dominate. Our bulge-halo conspiracy places much tighter constraints on galaxy formation models. It illustrates the power of two-dimensional stellar kinematics observations at large radii. It would now be important to test the generality of our results for different galaxy types and larger samples.

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arXiv2015

A SLUGGS and Gemini/GMOS combined study of the elliptical galaxy M60: wide-field photometry and kinematics of the globular cluster system

We present new wide-field photometry and spectroscopy of the globular clusters (GCs) around NGC 4649 (M60), the third brightest galaxy in the Virgo cluster. Imaging of NGC 4649 was assembled from a recently-obtained HST/ACS mosaic, and new Subaru/Suprime-Cam and archival CFHT/MegaCam data. About 1200 sources were followed up spectroscopically using combined observations from three multi-object spectrographs: Keck/DEIMOS, Gemini/GMOS and MMT/Hectospec. We confirm 431 unique GCs belonging to NGC 4649, a factor of 3.5 larger than previous datasets and with a factor of 3 improvement in velocity precision. We confirm significant GC colour bimodality and find that the red GCs are more centrally concentrated, while the blue GCs are more spatially extended. We infer negative GC colour gradients in the innermost 20 kpc and flat gradients out to large radii. Rotation is detected along the galaxy major axis for all tracers: blue GCs, red GCs, galaxy stars and planetary nebulae. We compare the observed properties of NGC 4649 with galaxy formation models. We find that formation via a major merger between two gas-poor galaxies, followed by satellite accretion, can consistently reproduce the observations of NGC 4649 at different radii. We find no strong evidence to support an interaction between NGC 4649 and the neighbouring spiral galaxy NGC 4647. We identify interesting GC kinematic features in our data, such as counter-rotating subgroups and bumpy kinematic profiles, which encode more clues about the formation history of NGC 4649.

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arXiv2014

The SLUGGS survey: Globular cluster stellar population trends from weak absorption lines in stacked spectra

As part of the SLUGGS survey, we stack 1137 Keck DEIMOS spectra of globular clusters from 10 galaxies to study their stellar populations in detail. The stacked spectra have median signal to noise ratios of $\sim 90$ Å$^{-1}$. Besides the calcium triplet, we study weaker sodium, magnesium, titanium and iron lines as well as the H$α$ and higher order Paschen hydrogen lines. In general, the stacked spectra are consistent with old ages and a Milky Way-like initial mass function. However, we see different metal line index strengths at fixed colour and magnitude, and differences in the calcium triplet--colour relation from galaxy to galaxy. We interpret this as strong evidence for variations in the globular cluster colour--metallicity relation between galaxies. Two possible explanations for the colour--metallicity relation variations are that the average ages of globular clusters vary from galaxy to galaxy or that the average abundances of light elements (i.e. He, C, N and O) differ between galaxies. Stacking spectra by magnitude, we see that the colours become redder and metal line indices stronger with brighter magnitudes. These trends are consistent with the previously reported `blue tilts' being mass--metallicity relations.

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