The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide

Autores
Norris, Mark A.; Kannappan, Sheila J.; Forbes, Duncan A.; Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Brodie, Jean P.; Faifer, Favio Raúl; Huxor, Avon; Maraston, Claudia; Moffett, Amanda J.; Penny, Samantha J.; Pota, Vincenzo; Smith Castelli, Analía Viviana; Strader, Jay; Bradley, David; Eckert, Kathleen D.; Fohring, Dora; McBride, JoEllen; Stark, David V.; Vaduvescu, Ovidiu
Año de publicación
2014
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
We describe the structural and kinematic properties of the first compact stellar systems discovered by the Archive of Intermediate Mass Stellar Systems project. These spectroscopically confirmed objects have sizes (~6 < Re [pc] < 500) and masses (~2 × 106 < M*/M⊙< 6 × 109) spanning the range of massive globular clusters, ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) and compact elliptical galaxies (cEs), completely filling the gap between star clusters and galaxies. Several objects are close analogues to the prototypical cE, M32. These objects, which are more massive than previously discovered UCDs of the same size, further call into question the existence of a tight mass-size trend for compact stellar systems, while simultaneously strengthening the case for a universal 'zone of avoidance' for dynamically hot stellar systems in the mass-size plane. Overall, we argue that there are two classes of compact stellar systems (1) massive star clusters and (2) a population closely related to galaxies. Our data provide indications for a further division of the galaxy-type UCD/cE population into two groups, one population that we associate with objects formed by the stripping of nucleated dwarf galaxies, and a second population that formed through the stripping of bulged galaxies or are lower mass analogues of classical ellipticals. We find compact stellar systems around galaxies in low- to high-density environments, demonstrating that the physical processes responsible for forming them do not only operate in the densest clusters.
Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas
Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata
Materia
Ciencias Astronómicas
Galaxies: dwarf
Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: formation
Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
SEDICI (UNLP)
Institución
Universidad Nacional de La Plata
OAI Identificador
oai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/85356

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network_name_str SEDICI (UNLP)
spelling The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divideNorris, Mark A.Kannappan, Sheila J.Forbes, Duncan A.Romanowsky, Aaron J.Brodie, Jean P.Faifer, Favio RaúlHuxor, AvonMaraston, ClaudiaMoffett, Amanda J.Penny, Samantha J.Pota, VincenzoSmith Castelli, Analía VivianaStrader, JayBradley, DavidEckert, Kathleen D.Fohring, DoraMcBride, JoEllenStark, David V.Vaduvescu, OvidiuCiencias AstronómicasGalaxies: dwarfGalaxies: evolutionGalaxies: formationGalaxies: kinematics and dynamicsWe describe the structural and kinematic properties of the first compact stellar systems discovered by the Archive of Intermediate Mass Stellar Systems project. These spectroscopically confirmed objects have sizes (~6 < R<SUB>e</SUB> [pc] < 500) and masses (~2 × 10<SUP>6</SUP> < M<SUB>*</SUB>/M⊙< 6 × 10<SUP>9</SUP>) spanning the range of massive globular clusters, ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) and compact elliptical galaxies (cEs), completely filling the gap between star clusters and galaxies. Several objects are close analogues to the prototypical cE, M32. These objects, which are more massive than previously discovered UCDs of the same size, further call into question the existence of a tight mass-size trend for compact stellar systems, while simultaneously strengthening the case for a universal 'zone of avoidance' for dynamically hot stellar systems in the mass-size plane. Overall, we argue that there are two classes of compact stellar systems (1) massive star clusters and (2) a population closely related to galaxies. Our data provide indications for a further division of the galaxy-type UCD/cE population into two groups, one population that we associate with objects formed by the stripping of nucleated dwarf galaxies, and a second population that formed through the stripping of bulged galaxies or are lower mass analogues of classical ellipticals. We find compact stellar systems around galaxies in low- to high-density environments, demonstrating that the physical processes responsible for forming them do not only operate in the densest clusters.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofísicasInstituto de Astrofísica de La Plata2014info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionArticulohttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdf1151-1172http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/85356enginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/0035-8711info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/mnras/stu1186info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/hdl/10915/93919info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)reponame:SEDICI (UNLP)instname:Universidad Nacional de La Platainstacron:UNLP2025-11-05T12:55:48Zoai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/85356Institucionalhttp://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/Universidad públicaNo correspondehttp://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/oai/snrdalira@sedici.unlp.edu.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:13292025-11-05 12:55:49.174SEDICI (UNLP) - Universidad Nacional de La Platafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide
title The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide
spellingShingle The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide
Norris, Mark A.
Ciencias Astronómicas
Galaxies: dwarf
Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: formation
Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
title_short The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide
title_full The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide
title_fullStr The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide
title_full_unstemmed The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide
title_sort The AIMSS Project : I. Bridging the star cluster-galaxy divide
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Norris, Mark A.
Kannappan, Sheila J.
Forbes, Duncan A.
Romanowsky, Aaron J.
Brodie, Jean P.
Faifer, Favio Raúl
Huxor, Avon
Maraston, Claudia
Moffett, Amanda J.
Penny, Samantha J.
Pota, Vincenzo
Smith Castelli, Analía Viviana
Strader, Jay
Bradley, David
Eckert, Kathleen D.
Fohring, Dora
McBride, JoEllen
Stark, David V.
Vaduvescu, Ovidiu
author Norris, Mark A.
author_facet Norris, Mark A.
Kannappan, Sheila J.
Forbes, Duncan A.
Romanowsky, Aaron J.
Brodie, Jean P.
Faifer, Favio Raúl
Huxor, Avon
Maraston, Claudia
Moffett, Amanda J.
Penny, Samantha J.
Pota, Vincenzo
Smith Castelli, Analía Viviana
Strader, Jay
Bradley, David
Eckert, Kathleen D.
Fohring, Dora
McBride, JoEllen
Stark, David V.
Vaduvescu, Ovidiu
author_role author
author2 Kannappan, Sheila J.
Forbes, Duncan A.
Romanowsky, Aaron J.
Brodie, Jean P.
Faifer, Favio Raúl
Huxor, Avon
Maraston, Claudia
Moffett, Amanda J.
Penny, Samantha J.
Pota, Vincenzo
Smith Castelli, Analía Viviana
Strader, Jay
Bradley, David
Eckert, Kathleen D.
Fohring, Dora
McBride, JoEllen
Stark, David V.
Vaduvescu, Ovidiu
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Ciencias Astronómicas
Galaxies: dwarf
Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: formation
Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
topic Ciencias Astronómicas
Galaxies: dwarf
Galaxies: evolution
Galaxies: formation
Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv We describe the structural and kinematic properties of the first compact stellar systems discovered by the Archive of Intermediate Mass Stellar Systems project. These spectroscopically confirmed objects have sizes (~6 < R<SUB>e</SUB> [pc] < 500) and masses (~2 × 10<SUP>6</SUP> < M<SUB>*</SUB>/M⊙< 6 × 10<SUP>9</SUP>) spanning the range of massive globular clusters, ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) and compact elliptical galaxies (cEs), completely filling the gap between star clusters and galaxies. Several objects are close analogues to the prototypical cE, M32. These objects, which are more massive than previously discovered UCDs of the same size, further call into question the existence of a tight mass-size trend for compact stellar systems, while simultaneously strengthening the case for a universal 'zone of avoidance' for dynamically hot stellar systems in the mass-size plane. Overall, we argue that there are two classes of compact stellar systems (1) massive star clusters and (2) a population closely related to galaxies. Our data provide indications for a further division of the galaxy-type UCD/cE population into two groups, one population that we associate with objects formed by the stripping of nucleated dwarf galaxies, and a second population that formed through the stripping of bulged galaxies or are lower mass analogues of classical ellipticals. We find compact stellar systems around galaxies in low- to high-density environments, demonstrating that the physical processes responsible for forming them do not only operate in the densest clusters.
Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas
Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata
description We describe the structural and kinematic properties of the first compact stellar systems discovered by the Archive of Intermediate Mass Stellar Systems project. These spectroscopically confirmed objects have sizes (~6 < R<SUB>e</SUB> [pc] < 500) and masses (~2 × 10<SUP>6</SUP> < M<SUB>*</SUB>/M⊙< 6 × 10<SUP>9</SUP>) spanning the range of massive globular clusters, ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) and compact elliptical galaxies (cEs), completely filling the gap between star clusters and galaxies. Several objects are close analogues to the prototypical cE, M32. These objects, which are more massive than previously discovered UCDs of the same size, further call into question the existence of a tight mass-size trend for compact stellar systems, while simultaneously strengthening the case for a universal 'zone of avoidance' for dynamically hot stellar systems in the mass-size plane. Overall, we argue that there are two classes of compact stellar systems (1) massive star clusters and (2) a population closely related to galaxies. Our data provide indications for a further division of the galaxy-type UCD/cE population into two groups, one population that we associate with objects formed by the stripping of nucleated dwarf galaxies, and a second population that formed through the stripping of bulged galaxies or are lower mass analogues of classical ellipticals. We find compact stellar systems around galaxies in low- to high-density environments, demonstrating that the physical processes responsible for forming them do not only operate in the densest clusters.
publishDate 2014
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2014
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Articulo
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/85356
url http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/85356
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/issn/0035-8711
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/mnras/stu1186
info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/hdl/10915/93919
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
1151-1172
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repository.name.fl_str_mv SEDICI (UNLP) - Universidad Nacional de La Plata
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