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Title

Structural parameters for globular clusters in M31 and generalizations for the Fundamental Plane

Author(s)

Barmby, Pauline;  McLaughlin, Dean E.;  Harris, William E.;  Harris, Gretchen L. H.;  Forbes, Duncan A.

Abstract

The structures of globular clusters (GCs) reflect their dynamical states and past histories. High-resolution imaging allows the exploration of morphologies of clusters in other galaxies. Surface brightness profiles from new Hubble Space Telescope observations of 34 GCs in M31 are presented, together with fits of several different structural models to each cluster. M31 clusters appear to be adequately fit by standard King models and do not obviously require alternate descriptions with relatively stronger halos, such as are needed to fit many GCs in other nearby galaxies. The derived structural parameters are combined with corrected versions of those measured in an earlier survey in order to construct a comprehensive catalog of structural and dynamical parameters for M31 GCs with a sample size similar to that for the Milky Way. Clusters in M31, the Milky Way, Magellanic Clouds, the Fornax dwarf spheroidal, and NGC 5128 define a very tight fundamental plane with identical slopes. The combined evidence for these widely different galaxies strongly reinforces the view that old GCs have near-universal structural properties, regardless of host environment.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing

Source

Astronomical Journal, Vol. 133, no. 6 (2007), pp. 2764-2786

Publication year

2007

Keyword(s)

Galaxies;  Galaxy star clusters;  Globular clusters;  M31

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

ISSN

0004-6256

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/516777

Copyright

Copyright © 2007 The American Astronomical Society. Paper reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Full text

Peer reviewed