arXiv subjects

Michael A. Beasley

Publications and source records attributed to Michael A. Beasley.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

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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arXiv2012

The Globular Cluster Kinematics and Galaxy Dark Matter Content of NGC 3923

This paper presents further results from our spectroscopic study of the globular cluster (GC) system of the group elliptical NGC 3923. From observations made with the GMOS instrument on the Gemini South telescope, an additional 50 GC and Ultra Compact Dwarf (UCD) candidates have been spectroscopically confirmed as members of the NGC 3923 system. When the recessional velocities of these GCs are combined with the 29 GC velocities reported previously, a total sample of 79 GC/UCD velocities is produced. This sample extends to over 6 arcmin (>6 Re \sim30 kpc) from the centre of NGC 3923, and is used to study the dynamics of the GC system and the dark matter content of NGC 3923. It is found that the GC system of NGC 3923 displays no appreciable rotation, and that the projected velocity dispersion is constant with radius within the uncertainties. The velocity dispersion profiles of the integrated light and GC system of NGC 3923 are indistinguishable over the region in which they overlap. We find some evidence that the diffuse light and GCs of NGC 3923 have radially biased orbits within \sim130". The application of axisymmetric orbit-based models to the GC and integrated light velocity dispersion profiles demonstrates that a significant increase in the mass-to-light ratio (from M/Lv = 8 to 26) at large galactocentric radii is required to explain these observations. We therefore confirm the presence of a dark matter halo in NGC 3923. We find that dark matter comprises 17.5% of the mass within 1 Re, 41.2% within 2 Re, and 75.6% within the radius of our last kinematic tracer at 6.9 Re. The total dynamical mass within this radius is found to be 1.5 x 10^12 solar masses. In common with other studies of large ellipticals, we find that our derived dynamical mass profile is consistently higher than that derived by X-ray observations, by a factor of around 2.

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arXiv2009

Probing the Intermediate-Age Globular Clusters in NGC 5128 from Ultraviolet Observations

We explore the age distribution of the globular cluster (GC) system of the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 5128 using ultraviolet (UV) photometry from Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) observations, with UV - optical colors used as the age indicator. Most GCs in NGC 5128 follow the general trends of GCs in M31 and Milky Way in UV - optical color-color diagram, which indicates that the majority of GCs in NGC 5128 are old similar to the age range of old GCs in M31 and Milky Way. A large fraction of spectroscopically identified intermediate-age GC (IAGC) candidates with ~ 3-8 Gyr are not detected in the FUV passband. Considering the nature of intermediate-age populations being faint in the far-UV (FUV) passband, we suggest that many of the spectroscopically identified IAGCs may be truly intermediate in age. This is in contrast to the case of M31 where a large fraction of spectroscopically suggested IAGCs are detected in FUV and therefore may not be genuine IAGCs but rather older GCs with developed blue horizontal branch stars. Our UV photometry strengthens the results previously suggesting the presence of GC and stellar subpopulation with intermediate age in NGC 5128. The existence of IAGCs strongly indicates the occurrence of at least one more major star formation episode after a starburst at high redshift.

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arXiv2009

Evidence for the disky origin of luminous Virgo dwarf ellipticals from the kinematics of their globular cluster systems

We report evidence for dynamically significant rotation in the globular cluster systems of two luminous Virgo dwarf ellipticals, VCC1261 and VCC1528. Including previous results for VCC1087, the globular cluster systems of all three Virgo dwarf ellipticals studied in detail to date exhibit v_rot/sigma > 1. Taking the rotation seen in the globular clusters as maximal disk rotation, we find all three dEs lie on the r-band Tully-Fisher relation. We argue that these data support the hypothesis that luminous dEs are the remnants of transformed disk galaxies. We also obtained deep, longslit data for the stars in VCC1261 and VCC1528. Both these galaxies show rapid rotation in their inner regions, with spatial scales of ~0.5 kpc. These rotation velocities are similar to those seen in the GC systems. Since our longslit data for Virgo dEs extend out to 1-2 effective radii (typical of deep observations), whereas the globular clusters extend out to 4--7 effective radii, we conclude that non-detections of rotation in many luminous dEs may simply be due to a lack of radial coverage in the stellar data, and that globular clusters represent singularly sensitive probes of the dynamics of dEs. Based on these data, we suggest that gas disks are significant sites of globular cluster formation in the early universe.

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arXiv2008

Evidence for Blue Straggler Stars Rejuvenating the Integrated Spectra of Globular Clusters

Integrated spectroscopy is the method of choice for deriving the ages of unresolved stellar systems. However, hot stellar evolutionary stages, such as hot horizontal branch stars and blue straggler stars (BSSs), can affect the integrated ages measured using Balmer lines. Such hot, "non-canonical" stars may lead to overestimations of the temperature of the main sequence turn-off, and therefore underestimations of the integrated age of a stellar population. Using an optimized Hbeta index in conjunction with HST/WFPC2 color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), we show that Galactic globular clusters exhibit a large scatter in their apparent "spectroscopic" ages, which does not correspond to that in their CMD-derived ages. We find for the first time that the specific frequency of BSSs, defined within the same aperture as the integrated spectra, shows a clear correspondence with Hbeta in the sense that, at fixed metallicity, higher BSS ratios lead to younger "apparent" spectroscopic ages. Thus, the specific frequency of BSSs in globular clusters sets a fundamental limit on the accuracy for which spectroscopic ages can be determined for globular clusters, and maybe for other stellar systems like galaxies. The observational implications of this result are discussed.

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arXiv2008

Extending the baseline: Spitzer Mid-Infrared Photometry of Globular Cluster Systems in the Centaurus A and Sombrero Galaxies

Spitzer IRAC mid-infrared photometry is presented for the globular cluster (GC) systems of the NGC 5128 ("Centaurus A") and NGC 4594 ("Sombrero") galaxies. Existing optical photometric and spectroscopic are combined with this new data in a comprehensive optical to mid-IR colour catalogue of 260 GCs. Empirical colour-metallicity relationships are derived for all optical to mid-IR colour combinations. These colours prove to be very effective quantities to test the photometric predictions of simple stellar population (SSP) models. In general, four SSP models show larger discrepancies between each other and the data at bluer wavelengths, especially at high metallicities. Such differences become very important when attempting to use colour-colour model predictions to constrain the ages of stellar populations. Furthermore, the age-substructure determined from colour-colour diagrams and 91 NGC 5128 GCs with spectroscopic ages from Beasley et al. (2008) are inconsistent, suggesting any apparent GC system age-substructure implied by a colour-colour analysis must be verified independently. Unlike blue wavebands, certain optical to mid-IR colours are insensitive to the flux from hot horizontal branch stars and thus provide an excellent metallicity proxy. The NGC 5128 GC system shows strong bimodality in the optical R-band to mid-IR colour distributions, hence proving it is bimodal in metallicity. In this new colour space, a colour-magnitude trend, a "blue tilt", is found in the NGC 5128 metal-poor GC data. The NGC 5128 young GCs do not contribute to this trend. [abridged]

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arXiv2007

Gemini/GMOS Spectroscopy of the Spheroid and Globular Cluster System of NGC 3923

We present a technique to extract ultra-deep diffuse-light spectra from the standard multi-object spectroscopic observations used to investigate extragalactic globular cluster (GC) systems. This technique allows a clean extraction of the spectrum of the host galaxy diffuse light from the same slitlets as the GC targets. We show the utility of the method for investigating the kinematics and stellar populations of galaxies at radii much greater than usually probed in longslit studies, at no additional expense in terms of telescope time. To demonstrate this technique we present Gemini/GMOS spectroscopy of 29 GCs associated with the elliptical galaxy NGC 3923. We compare the measured stellar population parameters of the GC system with those of the spheroid of NGC 3923 at the same projected radii, and find the GCs to have old ages (> 10 Gyr), [alpha/Fe]~0.3 and a range of metallicities running from [Z/H] = -1.8 to +0.35. The diffuse light of the galaxy is found to have ages, metallicities and [alpha/Fe] abundance ratios indistinguishable from those of the red GCs.

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arXiv2007

The Kinematics and Dynamics of the Globular Clusters and the Planetary Nebulae of NGC 5128

A new kinematic and dynamic study of the halo of the giant elliptical galaxy, NGC 5128, is presented. From a spectroscopically confirmed sample of 340 globular clusters and 780 planetary nebulae, the rotation amplitude, rotation axis, velocity dispersion, and the total dynamical mass are determined for the halo of NGC 5128. The globular cluster kinematics were searched for both radial dependence and metallicity dependence by subdividing the globular cluster sample into 158 metal-rich ([Fe/H] > -1.0) and 178 metal-poor ([Fe/H] < -1.0) globular clusters. Our results show the kinematics of the metal-rich and metal-poor subpopulations are quite similar. The kinematics are compared to the planetary nebula population where differences are apparent in the outer regions of the halo. The total mass of NGC 5128 is found using the Tracer Mass estimator (Evans et al. 2003), to determine the mass supported by internal random motions, and the spherical component of the Jeans equation to determine the mass supported by rotation. We find a total mass of (1.0+/-0.2) x 10^(12) Msun from the planetary nebulae data out to a projected radius of 90 kpc and (1.3+/-0.5) x 10^(12) Msun from the globular clusters out to a projected radius of 50 kpc. Lastly, we present a new and homogeneous catalog of known globular clusters in NGC 5128. This catalog combines all previous definitive cluster identifications from radial velocity studies and HST imaging studies, as well as 80 new globular clusters from a study of M.A. Beasley et al. (2007, in preparation).

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arXiv2007

Stellar populations of Globular Clusters in the Elliptical galaxy NGC1407

We present high-quality, Keck spectroscopic data for a sample of 20 globular clusters (GCs) in the massive E0 galaxy NGC1407. A subset of twenty line-strength indices of the Lick/IDS system have been measured for both the GC system and the central integrated star-light of the galaxy. Ages, metallicities and [alpha/Fe] ratios have been derived using several different approaches. The majority GCs in NGC1407 studied are old, follow a tight metallicity sequence reaching values slightly above solar, and exhibit mean [alpha/Fe] ratios of ~ 0.3 dex. In addition, three GCs are formally derived to be young (~ 4 Gyr), but we argue that they are actually old GCs hosting blue horizontal branches. We report, for the first time, evidence for the existence of two chemically-distinct subpopulations of metal-rich (MR) GCs. We find some MR GCs exhibit significantly larger [Mg/Fe] and [C/Fe] ratios. Different star formation time-scales are proposed to explain the correlation between Mg and C abundances. We also find striking CN overabundances over the entire GC metallicity range. Interestingly, the behavior of C and N in metal-poor (MP) GCs clearly deviates from the one in MR GCs. In particular, for MR GCs, N increases dramatically while C essentially saturates. This may be interpreted as a consequence of the increasing importance of the CNO cycle with increasing metallicity.

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arXiv2007

Globular Cluster Metallicity Subpopulations in NGC 4472

Bimodality is a common feature of globular cluster (GC) color distributions in galaxies. Although it is well known that the GC system of the Milky Way is bimodal in metallicity, this has yet to be directly demonstrated for an elliptical galaxy. We use Lick index measurements from the literature to derive metallicities for 47 GCs in the giant Virgo elliptical galaxy NGC 4472. The resulting distribution shows clear evidence for two metallicity subpopulations of GCs.

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arXiv2006

Gemini/GMOS Spectra of Globular Clusters in the Virgo Giant Elliptical NGC 4649

NGC 4649 (M60) is one of a handful of giant Virgo ellipticals. We have obtained Gemini/GMOS spectra for 38 GCs associated with this galaxy. Applying the multi-index chi^2 minimisation technique of Proctor & Sansom (2002) with the single stellar population models of Thomas, Maraston & Korn (2004) we derive ages, metallicities and alpha-element abundance ratios. We find several young (2--3 Gyr old) super-solar metallicity GCs, while the majority are old (>10 Gyrs), spanning a range of metallicities from solar to [Z/H]=-2. At least two of these young GCs are at large projected radii of 17-20 kpc. The galaxy itself shows no obvious signs of a recent starburst, interaction or merger. A trend of decreasing alpha-element ratio with increasing metallicity is found.

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arXiv2005

Gemini/GMOS Spectra of Globular Clusters in the Leo Group Elliptical NGC 3379

We have obtained Gemini/GMOS spectra for 22 GCs associated with NGC 3379. We derive ages, metallicities and alpha-element abundance ratios from simple stellar population models using the multi-index chi^2 minimisation method of Proctor & Sansom (2002). All of these GCs are found to be consistent with old ages, i.e. >10 Gyr, with a wide range of metallicities. A trend of decreasing alpha-element abundance ratio with increasing metallicity is indicated. The projected velocity dispersion of the GC system is consistent with being constant with radius. Non-parametric, isotropic models require a significant increase in the mass-to-light ratio at large radii. This result is in contrast to that of Romanowsky et al. (2003) who find a decrease in the velocity dispersion profile as determined from planetary nebulae. Our constant dispersion requires a normal sized dark halo, although without anisotropic models we cannot rigorously determine the dark halo mass. A two-sided chi^2 test over all radii, gives a 2 sigma difference between the mass profile derived from our GCs compared to the PN-derived mass model of Romanowsky et al. (2003). However, if we restrict our analysis to radii beyond one effective radius and test if the GC velocity dispersion is consistently higher, we determine a >3 sigma difference between the mass models, and hence favor the conclusion that NGC 3379 does indeed have dark matter at large radii in its halo. (abridged)

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arXiv2005

The Globular Cluster System of the Virgo Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy VCC 1087

We have analysed the globular cluster (GC) system of the nucleated dwarf elliptical galaxy VCC 1087 in the Virgo cluster, based on Keck/LRIS spectroscopy and archival HST/ACS imaging. We estimate VCC 1087 hosts a total population of 77+/-19 GCs, which corresponds to a relatively high V-band specific frequency of 5.8+/-1.4. The g-z color distribution of the GCs shows a blue (metal-poor) peak with a tail of redder (metal-rich) clusters similar in color to those seen in luminous ellipticals. Spectroscopy of a subsample of 12 GCs suggests that the GC system is old and coeval (~10 Gyr), with a fairly broad metallicity distribution (-1.8<[m/H]<-0.8). In contrast, an integrated spectrum of the underlying galaxy starlight reveals that its optical luminosity is dominated by metal-rich, intermediate-aged stars. Radial velocities of the GCs suggest rotation close to the major axis of the galaxy, and this rotation is dynamically significant with (v/sigma)^* >1. A compilation of the kinematics of the GC systems of 9 early-type galaxies shows surprising diversity in the v/sigma parameter for GC systems. In this context, the GC system of VCC 1087 exhibits the most significant rotation to velocity dispersion signature. Modeling the velocity dispersion profile of the GCs and galaxy stars suggest fairly constant mass-to-light ratios of ~3 out to 6.5 kpc. The present observations can entertain both baryonic and non-baryonic solutions, and GC velocities at larger radii would be most valuable with regard to this issue. We discuss the evolution of VCC 1087 in terms of the galaxy ``harassment'' scenario, and conclude that this galaxy may well be the remains of a faded, tidally perturbed Sc spiral [abridged].

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arXiv2005

Kinematics of globular cluster systems and the formation of early-type galaxies

We numerically investigate the kinematic properties of globular cluster systems (GCSs) in E/S0 galaxies formed from dissipationless merging of spiral galaxies. The metal-poor globular clusters (MPCs) and metal-rich clusters (MRCs) in the merger progenitors are initially assumed to have spatial distributions consistent with the Milky Way GC system. Our principal results, which can be tested against observations, are as follows. Both MPCs and MRCs in elliptical galaxies formed from major mergers can exhibit significant rotation at large radii ($\sim$20 kpc) due to the conversion of initial orbital angular momentum into intrinsic angular momentum of the remnant. MPCs show higher central velocity dispersions than MRCs for most major merger models. $V_{\rm m}/σ_{0}$ (where $V_{\rm m}$ and $σ_{0}$, are the GCS maximum rotational velocity and central velocity dispersion of respectively) ranges from 0.2--1.0 and 0.1--0.9 for the MPCs and MRCs respectively, within $6R_{\rm e}$ for the remnant elliptical. For most merger remnant ellipticals, $V_{\rm m}/σ_{0}$ of GCSs within $6R_{\rm e}$ is greater than that of the field stars within $2R_{\rm e}$. The radial profiles of rotational velocities and velocity dispersions of the GCSs depend upon the orbital configuration of the merger progenitors, their mass-ratios, and the viewing angle. For example, more flattened early-type galaxies, formed through mergers with small mass ratios ($\sim$ 0.1), show little rotation in the outer MRCs. Two-dimensional (2D) velocity dispersion distributions of the GCSs of merger remnant ellipticals are generally flattened for both MPCs and MRCs, reflecting the fact that the GCSs have anisotropic velocity dispersions (abridged).

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arXiv2005

Globular Clusters in Virgo Ellipticals: Unexpected Results for Giants, Dwarfs, and Nuclei from ACS Imaging

We have analyzed archival HST/ACS images in Sloan g and z of the globular cluster (GC) systems of 53 ellipticals in the Virgo Cluster, spanning massive galaxies to dEs. Among the new results are: (1) In the gEs M87 and NGC 4649, there is a correlation between luminosity and color for individual metal-poor GCs, such that more massive GCs are more metal-rich. A plausible interpretation of this result is self-enrichment, and may suggest that these GCs once possessed dark matter halos. (2) Many dEs have metal-rich GC subpopulations. We also confirm the GC color--galaxy luminosity relations found previously for both metal-poor and metal-rich GC subpopulations. (3) There are large differences in GC specific frequency among dEs. Over -15 < M_B < -18, there is little correlation between specific frequency (S_N)and M_B. But we do find evidence for two separate S_N classes of dEs: those with B-band S_N ~ 2, and others with populous GC systems that have S_N ranging from ~ 5-20 with median S_N ~ 10. Together, these points suggest multiple formation channels for dEs in Virgo. (4) The peak of the GC luminosity function (GCLF) is the same for both gEs and dEs. This is contrary to expectations of dynamical friction on massive GCs, unless the primordial GCLF varies between gEs and dEs. Among gEs the GCLF turnover varies by a surprising small 0.05 mag, an encouraging result for its use as an accurate standard candle. (5) dE,Ns appear bimodal in their nuclear properties: there are small bright red nuclei consistent with formation by dynamical friction of GCs, and larger faint blue nuclei which appear to have formed by a dissipative process with little contribution from GCs. The role of dynamical evolution in shaping the present-day properties of dE GC systems and their nuclei remains ambiguous. (Abridged)

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arXiv2005

Extragalactic Globular Clusters: Old Spectroscopic Ages and New Views on Their Formation

We present the results of a meta-analysis of Keck spectra of extragalactic globular clusters (GCs) in a sample of eight galaxies, ranging from dwarfs to massive ellipticals. We infer ages for the metal-poor and metal-rich GCs in these galaxies through comparisons to Galactic GCs. Both subpopulations appear to be no younger than their Galactic counterparts, with ages ~> 10 Gyr. This is the largest sample of galaxies for which ages have been constrained spectroscopically. Our results support the formation of most GCs in massive galaxies at high redshift. We propose a scenario for the formation of GC subpopulations that synthesizes aspects of both accretion and in situ approaches in the context of galaxy formation through hierarchical merging.

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arXiv2005

Old Globular Clusters Masquerading as Young in NGC 4365?

High signal-to-noise, low-resolution spectra have been obtained for 22 globular clusters (GCs) in NGC 4365. Some of these were selected as probable representatives of an intermediate-age (2-5 Gyr), extremely metal-rich GC subpopulation. The presence of such a subpopulation had been inferred from the unusual optical and near-IR color distributions of GCs in this otherwise typical Virgo elliptical galaxy. However, ages derived from Lick indices are consistent with uniformly old mean ages for all GCs in our sample. The metallicities of the clusters show some evidence for a trimodal distribution. The most metal-poor and metal-rich peaks are consistent with the values expected for an elliptical galaxy of this luminosity, but there appears to be an additional, intermediate-metallicity peak lying between them. New Hubble Space Telescope photometry is consistent with this result. A plausible scenario is that in earlier data these three peaks merged into a single broad distribution. Our results suggest that it is difficult to identify intermediate-age GC subpopulations solely with photometry, even when both optical and near-infrared colors are used.

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arXiv2005

The Evolutionary History of the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 1052

We have obtained Keck spectra for 16 globular clusters (GCs) associated with the merger remnant elliptical NGC 1052, as well as a long-slit spectrum of the galaxy. We derive ages, metallicities and abundance ratios from simple stellar population models using the methods of Proctor & Sansom (2002), applied to extragalactic GCs for the first time. We find all of the GCs to be ~13 Gyr old according to simple stellar populations, with a large range of metallicities. From the galaxy spectrum we find NGC 1052 to have a luminosity-weighted central age of ~2 Gyr and metallicity of [Fe/H]~+0.6. No strong gradients in either age or metallicity were found to the maximum radius measured (~1 kpc). However, we do find a strong radial gradient in alpha-element abundance, which reaches a very high central value. The young central starburst age is consistent with the age inferred from the HI tidal tails and infalling gas of \~1 Gyr. Thus, although NGC 1052 shows substantial evidence for a recent merger and an associated starburst, it appears that the merger did not induce the formation of new GCs, perhaps suggesting that little recent star formation occurred. This interpretation is consistent with ``frosting'' models for early-type galaxy formation. (Abridged)

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