GCSCAT - Globular Cluster Systems of Galaxies Catalog

Overview

This table contains a catalog of 422 galaxies with published measurements of their globular cluster (GC) populations. Of these, 248 are E galaxies, 93 are S0 galaxies, and 81 are spirals or irregulars. Among various correlations of the total number of GCs with other global galaxy properties, the authors find that the number of globular clusters N_GC correlates well though nonlinearly with the dynamical mass of the galaxy bulge M_dyn = 4 sigma _e_² R_e/G, where sigma_e is the central velocity dispersion and R_e the effective radius of the galaxy light profile. In their paper, the authors also present updated versions of the GC specific frequency S_N and specific mass S_M versus host galaxy luminosity and baryonic mass. These graphs exhibit the previously known U-shape: highest S_N or S_M values occur for either dwarfs or supergiants, but in the mid-range of galaxy size (10⁹ - 10¹⁰ L_sun) the GC numbers fall along a well-defined baseline value of S_N ~= 1 or S_M = 0.1, similar among all galaxy types. Along with other recent discussions, the authors suggest that this trend may represent the effects of feedback, which systematically inhibited early star formation at either very low or very high galaxy mass, but which had its minimum effect for intermediate masses. Their results strongly reinforce recent proposals that GC formation efficiency appears to be most nearly proportional to the galaxy halo mass M_halo. The mean "absolute" efficiency ratio for GC formation that the authors derive from the catalog data is M_GCS/M_halo = 6 x 10^-5. They suggest that the galaxy-to-galaxy scatter around this mean value may arise in part because of differences in the relative timing of GC formation versus field-star formation. Finally, they find that an excellent empirical predictor of total GC population for galaxies of all luminosities is N_GC ~ (R_e sigma_e)^1.3, a result consistent with fundamental plane scaling relations.

Catalog Bibcode

2013ApJ...772...82H

References

A Catalog of Globular Cluster Systems: What Determines
the Size of a Galaxy's Globular Cluster Population?
    Harris W.E., Harris G.L.H., Alessi M.
   <Astrophys. J., 772, 82 (2013)>
   =2013ApJ...772...82H         (SIMBAD/NED BibCode)

Provenance

This table was created by the HEASARC in February 2014 based on an electronic version of Table 1 from the reference paper which was obtained from the ApJ web site. A duplicate entry for NGC 4417 was removed in June 2019.

Parameters

Name
The galaxy identification.

Alt_Name
An alternate identification for the galaxy.

RA
The Right Ascension of the galaxy in the selected equinox. This was given in J2000.0 decimal degrees in the original table.

Dec
The Declination of the galaxy in the selected equinox. This was given in J2000.0 decimal degrees in the original table.

LII
The Galactic Longitude of the galaxy.

BII
The Galactic Latitude of the galaxy.

Morph_Type
The morphological type of the galaxy.

Distance
The distance D of the galaxy, in Mpc, primarily from the raw data in NED.

Distance_Error
The uncertainty in the distance, in Mpc.

Distance_Method
The method that the authors used to determine the distance to the galaxy. For relatively nearby galaxies, wherever possible the authors adopt D-values measured from primary standard candles based on resolved stellar populations (Cepheids, red-giant-branch-tip stars, planetary nebula luminosity functions, Mira stars, RR Lyrae stars). Surface brightness fluctuations measured from integrated light are also used as a standard candle. For each such galaxy the authors adopt the average of the most recent individual measurements of those six primary methods (they emphasize that their adopted values are not the averages given in NED). For some slightly more distant galaxies for which these primary indicators are not available, they use recent determinations from the Tully-Fisher relation as listed in NED. For still more distant systems (D >~ 30 Mpc) they use Hubble's law with H₀ = 70 km s^-1 Mpc^-1 ^, and with the galaxy radial velocity corrected to the cosmic microwave background reference frame.

The following abbreviations for the distance methods are used here:

    GCLF: Globular Cluster luminosity function (?)
    PNLF: Planetary nebula luminosity function
     RRL: RR Lyrae stars
     SBF: Surface brightness fluctuations
      TF: Tully-Fisher
    TRGB: tip of the red-giant branch

Vmag_Extinction
The foreground V-band extinction towards the galaxy, taken from NED.

Abs_Vmag
The absolute visual magnitude, M_V^T, of the galaxy, calculated from the distance modulus and the integrated magnitude V_T⁰ if available from NED. In other cases where a total V magnitude was unavailable the authors have used a blue magnitude B^T and the integrated (B-V) color index taken from the HyperLeda database.

Abs_Vmag_Error
The uncertainty in the absolute visual magnitude of the galaxy.

Abs_Kmag
The absolute near-infrared (near-IR) magnitude, M_K^T of the galaxy, calculated from the distance modulus and the integrated K magnitude from the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS). The authors use here the 2MASS K(ext) magnitude for each galaxy, a quantity which is available for 82% of the galaxies in their catalog. Although an alternate and perhaps preferable choice would be the frequently used K_s band, this is unavailable for most of these galaxies.

Abs_Kmag_Error
The uncertainty in the absolute near-infrared (near-IR) magnitude of the galaxy,

Num_Glob_Clust_Limit
This parameter contains a limit flag for the number of globular clusters in the galaxy.

Num_Glob_Clust
The total number of globular clusters, N_gc, in the galaxy.

Num_Glob_Clust_Error
The uncertainty in the total number of globular clusters in the galaxy.

Ref_Num_Glob_Clust
The code(s) for the reference source(s) for the total number of globular clusters in the galaxy:

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      1a = Alamo-Martinez, K.A. et al. 2012, A&A 546, A15;
       2 = Annibali, F. et al 2011, AJ 142, 129;
       3 = Bassino, L.P. et al. 2006, A&A, 451, 789;
       4 = Bassino, L.P., Richtler, T., & Dirsch, B. 2006, MNRAS, 367, 156;
       5 = Bassino, L.P., Richtler, T., & Dirsch, B. 2008, MNRAS, 386, 1145;
       6 = Blakeslee, J. P. 1999, AJ 118, 1506;
       7 = Blakeslee, J. P. et al 1997, AJ 114, 482;
       8 = Blecha, A. 1986, A&A 154, 321;
       9 = Bonfini, P. et al 2012, MNRAS 421. 2827;
      10 = Bridges, T. J., & Hanes, D. A, 1990, AJ 99, 1100;
     10a = Bridges, T. J., & Hanes, D. A, 1994, ApJ 431, 625;
      11 = Brodie, J. P. & Larsen, S. S. 2006, A&A, 448, 155;
      12 = Brown, R. J. et al. 2000, MNRAS 317, 406;
      13 = Butterworth, S. T., and Harris, W. E. 1992, AJ 103, 1828;
      14 = Cantiello, M. et al 2007, ApJ 668, 209;
      15 = Chandar, R. et al 2002, ApJ 564, 712;
      16 = Chandar, R. et al 2004, AJ 611, 220;
      17 = Chapelon, S. et al. 1999, A&A, 346, 721;
      18 = Cho, J. et al 2012, MNRAS 422, 3591;
      19 = Chomiuk, L., Strader, J., & Brodie, J.P. 2008, AJ, 136, 234;
      20 = Cockcroft, R. et al. 2009, AJ 138, 758;
      21 = DeGraaff, R. et al 2007, ApJ 671, 1624;
      22 = Di Nino, D., et al. 2009, AJ, 138, 1296;
      23 = Dirsch, B., Schuberth, Y., & Richtler, T. 2005, A&A, 433, 43;
      24 = Durrell, P. R. et al 1996, AJ 112, 972;
      25 = Durrell, P. R. et al. 1996, ApJ, 463, 543;
      26 = Faifer, F. R. 2011, MNRAS 416, 155;
      27 = Fischer, P. et al 1990, PASP 102, 5;
      28 = Forbes, D. A., Brodie, J. P., & Huchra, J. 1997, AJ, 113, 887;
      29 = Forbes, D. A. et al. 1998, MNRAS, 293, 1334;
      30 = Forbes, D. A. et al 2000, A&A 358, 471;
      31 = Forbes, D. A. et al. 2000, A&A, 358, 471;
      32 = Forbes, D. A. et al 2010, MNRAS 403, 429;
      33 = Forbes, D. A., Georgakakis, A. E., &
           Brodie, J. P. 2001, MNRAS, 325, 1431;
      34 = Forte, J. C. et al. 2001, AJ 121, 1992;
      35 = Foster, C. et al. 2011, MNRAS 415, 3393;
      36 = Gebhardt, K. & Kissler-Patig, M. 1999, AJ, 118, 1526;
      37 = Georgiev, I. et al. 2010, MNRAS 406, 1967;
      38 = Goudfrooij, P. et al. 2001, MNRAS, 322, 643;
      39 = Goudfrooij, P. et al 2003, MNRAS 343, 665;
      40 = Goudfrooij, P. et al. 2007, AJ, 133, 2737;
      41 = Hanes, D. A. & Harris, W. E. 1986, ApJ, 309, 564;
      42 = Hargis, J. R. et al 2011, ApJ 738, 113;
     42a = Hargis, J.R., & Rhode, K.L. 2012, AJ, 144, 164;
      43 = Harris, G. L. H. 2010, PASA 27, 475;
     43a = Harris, H.C., and Harris, W.E. 2000, Astrophysical Quantities, p.545;
      44 = Harris, W. E. 1996, AJ 112, 1487;
      45 = Harris, W. E., & Hanes, D. A. 1985, ApJ 291, 147;
      46 = Harris, W. E., & van den Bergh, S. 1981, AJ 86, 1627;
     46a = Harris, W.E. et al. 1995, ApJ 441, 120;
      47 = Harris, W. E. et al 2009, AJ 137, 3314;
      48 = Harris, W. E. et al 2013, in preparation;
      49 = Hilker, M. & Kissler-Patig, M. 1996, A&A, 314, 357;
      50 = Hodge, P. et al 1999, ApJ 521, 577;
      51 = Hopp, U., Wagner, S. J., & Richtler, T. 1995, A&A, 296, 633;
     51a = Huxor, A.P. et al. 2013, MNRAS, 429, 1039;
      52 = Hwang, N. et al 2011, ApJ 738, 58;
      53 = Jordan, A. et al. 2004, AJ, 127, 24;
      54 = Jordan, A. et al. 2005, ApJ, 634, 1002;
      55 = Jordan, A. et al 2007, ApJS, 169, 213;
     55a = Kaisler, D. et al. 1996, AJ 111, 2224;
     55b = Kalirai, J.S. et al. 2008, ApJ, 682, L37;
      56 = Kaviraj, S. et al 2012, MNRAS 422, L96;
      57 = Kissler-Patig, M. et al 1996, A&A 308, 704;
      58 = Kissler-Patig, M. et al. 1997, A&A 327, 503;
      59 = Kissler-Patig, M. et al 1999, AJ 118, 197;
      60 = Kundu, A., & Whitmore, B. C. 2001, AJ 121, 2950;
      61 = Kundu, A., & Whitmore, B. C. 2001, AJ 122, 1251;
      62 = Larsen, S. S. et al. 2001, AJ 121, 2974;
      63 = Law, D. R., and Majewski, S. R. 2010, ApJ 718, 1128;
      64 = Ma, J. 2012, AJ 144, 41;
      65 = Marin-Franch, A., & Aparicio, A. 2002, ApJ 568, 174;
      66 = Maybhate, A. et al 2007, AJ, 134, 1729;
     66a = Meurer, G.R. et al. 2003, ApJ 599, L83;
     66b = Mieske, S. et al. 2004, AJ, 128, 1529;
      67 = Miller, B. W. and Lotz, J. M. 2007, ApJ 670, 1074;
      68 = Mora, M. D. et al. 2007, A&A 464, 495;
      70 = Mora, M. D. et al. 2009, A&A, 501, 949;
      71 = Morbey, C. L., & McClure, R. D. 1985, PASP 97, 110;
      72 = Nantais, J. B. et al. 2010, ApJ, 139, 1413;
      73 = Nolan, L. A. et al. 2006, IAU Symp 230, 359;
      74 = Okon, W. M. M. & Harris, W. E. 2002, ApJ, 567, 294;
      75 = Olsen, K. A. G. 2004, AJ, 127, 2674;
      76 = Peacock, M. B. et al 2010, MNRAS 402, 803;
      77 = Peng, E. W. et al. 2008, ApJ, 681, 197;
      78 = Peng, E. W. et al 2011, ApJ 730, 23;
      79 = Perrett, K. M. et al. 1997, AJ, 113, 895;
      80 = Puzia, T. H. et al. 2000, AJ, 120, 777;
      81 = Puzia, T. H. et al. 2004, A&A, 415, 214;
      82 = Rhode, K. L. et al 2007, AJ 134, 1403;
      83 = Rhode, K. L. et al 2010, AJ 140, 430;
      84 = Rhode, K. L., & Zepf, S. E. 2001, AJ, 121, 210;
      85 = Rhode, K. L., & Zepf, S. E. 2003, AJ 126, 230;
      86 = Rhode, K. L., & Zepf, S. E. 2004, AJ, 127, 302;
      87 = Richtler, T. et al. 1992, A&A, 264, 25;
      88 = Santiago, B. X. 2008, A&A 492, 23;
      89 = Santiago-Cortes, M. et al. 2010, MNRAS, 405, 1292;
      90 = Schuberth, Y. et al. 2006, A&A, 459, 391;
      91 = Sharina, M. and Davoust, E. 2009, A&A 497, 65;
      92 = Sikkema, G. et al. 2006, A&A 458, 53;
      93 = Spitler, L. et al. 2008, MNRAS, 385, 361;
      94 = Spitler, L. et al 2012, MNRAS 423, 2177
      95 = Tamura, N. et al. 2006, MNRAS, 373, 588;
      96 = Trancho, G. et al. 1999, Globular Clusters as Guides to Galaxies, 137;
      97 = van den Bergh, S. 2000, The Galaxies of the Local Group,
           Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge;
     97a = Veljanoski, J. et al. 2013, MNRAS, in preparation;
      98 = Villegas, D. et al. 2010, ApJ, 717, 603;
      99 = Whitmore, B. C. et al. 1997, AJ 114, 1797;
     100 = Wyder, T. K. et al 2000, PASP 112, 1162;
    100a = Young, M.D., Dowell, J.L., and Rhode, K.L. 2012, AJ 144, 103;
     101 = Zepf, S. et al. 1994, ApJ, 435, L117;

Sigma_E
The stellar velocity dispersion sigma_e, in km s^-1, of the galaxy. This spectroscopic quantity is dominated by the bright inner part of the galaxy and in most cases represents the velocity dispersion of the bulge light. Where possible the authors have taken the homogeneous sigma_e values given by Gultekin et al. (2009, ApJ, 698, 198), McElroy (1995, ApJS, 100, 105), and McConnell et al. (2012, ApJ, 756, 179). Otherwise, they use sigma_e as compiled in HyperLeda. In total, sigma_e measurements are available for 65% of the galaxies in the catalog.

Sigma_E_Error
The uncertainty in the stellar velocity dispersion, in km s^-1, of the galaxy

Effective_Radius
The effective radius R_e, in kpc, of the galaxy. This is the radius enclosing half the total galaxy light, taken from NED or (secondarily) HyperLeda. Here, in the interests of the best possible combination of homogeneity and completeness, the authors use only radii measured through optical photometry: primarily V whenever available, and secondarily other nearby bands, including g, r, or B. The authors do not use any values measured through infrared or near-ultraviolet bands, since these give systematically different R_e values than those in the optical bandpasses. In total, optically based R_e values are available for 81% of the galaxies.

Effective_Radius_Error
The uncertainty in the effective radius, in kpc, of the galaxy.

Log_Dyn_Mass
The logarithm of the dynamical mass M_dyn, in solar masses, of the galaxy, calculated from sigma_e and R_e as described in Section 3 of the reference paper.

Log_Dyn_Mass_Error
The uncertainty in the logarithm of the dynamical mass, in solar masses, of the galaxy,

Log_Tot_GC_Mass
The logarithm of the total stellar mass M_GCS, in solar masses, contained in the entire globular cluster population of the galaxy, calculated as described in Section 3.3 of the reference paper.

Log_Tot_GC_Mass_Error
The uncertainty in the logarithm of the total stellar mass, in solar masses, contained in the entire globular cluster population of the galaxy.

Log_Smbh_Mass
The logarithm of the measured mass of the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) of the galaxy, in solar masses. This is a quantity of special interest although it is currently available for only 11% of the galaxies in this GCS list. SMBH data are taken from Gultekin et al. (2009, ApJ, 698, 198), McConnell et al. (2012, ApJ, 756, 179), Graham (2008, PASA, 25, 167), and other sources listed in Harris & Harris (2011, MNRAS, 410, 2347) and Harris et al. (2013, MNRAS, submitted).

Log_Smbh_Mass_Pos_Err
The upper uncertainty in the logarithm of the measured mass of the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) of the galaxy, in solar masses.

Log_Smbh_Mass_Neg_Err
The lower uncertainty in the logarithm of the measured mass of the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) of the galaxy, in solar masses.

Contact Person

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Last Modified: Monday, 16-Sep-2024 17:27:55 EDT