The Globular Cluster System of the dE,N galaxy N3115 DW1

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Session 52 -- Elliptical Galaxies
Display presentation, Tuesday, 10, 1995, 9:20am - 6:30pm

[52.05] The Globular Cluster System of the dE,N galaxy N3115 DW1

Patrick R. Durrell, Dean E. McLaughlin, William E. Harris (McMaster U.), David A. Hanes (Queens U.)

A bright ($M_V\sim-17$) dE,N galaxy near the isolated S0 galaxy NGC 3115 has a surprisingly populous system of globular clusters. We have studied this system using $BV$ CCD photometry from CTIO. A population of $\sim$40 clusters is clearly seen above the background out to a distance of $\sim50^{\prime \prime}$ ($\sim 2$ kpc for $d=8$ Mpc) from the nucleus. The mean $(B-V)_o$ of the clusters is 0.75$\pm0.17$, indicating that most (if not all) of the clusters are genuinely $old$ globulars, and not a population of clusters of intermediate or young age. The observed colors then yield a mean [Fe/H] of $\sim-1.1$, which is more metal-poor (in the mean) than the dwarf itself, implying that the clusters formed during or before the bulk of the galaxy's stellar population. Nevertheless, this is a surprisingly metal-rich cluster system for a dwarf elliptical.

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