Document Type

Article

Publication Date

April 2018

Publication Title

The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Volume

856

Issue Number

2

DOI

10.3847/2041-8213/aab60b

Disciplines

Astrophysics and Astronomy | External Galaxies | Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy

Abstract

We recently found an ultra diffuse galaxy (UDG) with a half-light radius of R e = 2.2 kpc and little or no dark matter. The total mass of NGC1052–DF2 was measured from the radial velocities of bright compact objects that are associated with the galaxy. Here, we analyze these objects using a combination of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging and Keck spectroscopy. Their average size is pc and their average ellipticity is . From a stacked Keck spectrum we derive an age of 9 Gyr and a metallicity of [Fe/H] = −1.35 ± 0.12. Their properties are similar to ωCentauri, the brightest and largest globular cluster in the Milky Way, and our results demonstrate that the luminosity function of metal-poor globular clusters is not universal. The fraction of the total stellar mass that is in the globular cluster system is similar to that in other UDGs, and consistent with "failed galaxy" scenarios, where star formation terminated shortly after the clusters were formed. However, the galaxy is a factor of ~1000 removed from the relation between globular cluster mass and total galaxy mass that has been found for other galaxies, including other UDGs. We infer that a dark matter halo is not a prerequisite for the formation of metal-poor globular cluster-like objects in high-redshift galaxies.

Comments

This article was originally published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, volume 856, issue 2. © 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
This article is also available online at the following link: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aab60b

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