The SLUGGS survey: calcium triplet-based spectroscopic metallicities for over 900 globular clusters

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0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences | Forbes, Duncan A.

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The SLUGGS survey: calcium triplet-based spectroscopic metallicities for over 900 globular clusters

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/236604

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Title: The SLUGGS survey: calcium triplet-based spectroscopic metallicities for over 900 globular clusters
Author(s): Usher, Christopher; Forbes, Duncan A.; Brodie, Jean P.; Foster, Caroline; Spitler, Lee R.; Arnold, Jacob A.; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Strader, Jay; Pota, Vincenzo
Abstract: Although the colour distribution of globular clusters in massive galaxies is well known to be bimodal, the spectroscopic metallicity distribution has been measured in only a few galaxies. After redefining the calcium triplet index-metallicity relation, we use our relation to derive the metallicity of 903 globular clusters in 11 early-type galaxies. This is the largest sample of spectroscopic globular cluster metallicities yet assembled. We compare these metallicities with those derived from Lick indices finding good agreement. In six of the eight galaxies with sufficient numbers of high-quality spectra we find bimodality in the spectroscopic metallicity distribution. Our results imply that most massive early-type galaxies have bimodal metallicity as well as colour distributions. This bimodality suggests that most massive early-type galaxies experienced two periods of star formation.
Publication type: Journal article
Research centre: Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing
Source: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 426, no. 2 (Oct 2012), pp. 1475-1495
Publication year: 2012
FOR Code(s): 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
Keyword(s): Abundances; Galaxies; Globular clusters; Star clusters; Stellar content
Publisher: WIley-Blackwell
ISSN: 0035-8711
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21801.x
Publisher URL: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/chancellery/mediacentre/media-centre/news/2012/10/galaxies-some-assembly-required
Peer reviewed