Program: GS-2005A-Q-28
| Title: | The Age Distribution of Globular Clusters in the Merger Remnant NGC 5128 |
| PI: | William Harris |
| Co-I(s): | Kristin Woodley, Gretchen Harris, Doug Geisler, Matias Gomez |
Abstract
Globular cluster (GC) formation accompanies major star formation episodes in merger and starburst galaxies, so the age distribution function (ADF) of the GCs in a giant E galaxy should provide one of the clearest signatures of the galaxy's formation history that we can generate. NGC 5128 (Cen A) is a classic merger product and, at d=4 Mpc, is also the closest giant E galaxy, as such, it provides a unique opportunity to use GCs to study the assembly history of a giant elliptical. We propose to use GMOS in multislit mode to obtain very high-S/N spectra of 80 of its GCs, and to use these for simultaneous metallicity and relative age measurement with the standard set of Lick/IDS spectral indices. With 4 GMOS fields we will cover most of the inner bulge region of the galaxy, within which the GC age range should be the largest.
Publications using this program's data
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[data]
[ADS] Structural parameters from ground-based observations of newly discovered globular clusters in NGC 5128
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[data]
[ADS] The Ages, Metallicities, and Alpha Element Enhancements of Globular Clusters in the Elliptical NGC 5128: A Homogeneous Spectroscopic Study with Gemini/Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph
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[data]
[ADS] Nonlinear Color-Metallicity Relations of Globular Clusters. VII. Nonlinear Absorption-line Index versus Metallicity Relations and Bimodal Index Distributions of NGC 5128 Globular Clusters