CHEMICAL ABUNDANCE EVIDENCE OF ENDURING HIGH STAR FORMATION RATES IN AN EARLY-TYPE GALAXY: HIGH [Ca/Fe] IN NGC 5128 GLOBULAR CLUSTERS
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 1156 High Street, UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
- Observatories of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101-1292 (United States)
We present [Fe/H], ages, and Ca abundances for an initial sample of 10 globular clusters in NGC 5128 obtained from high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio echelle spectra of their integrated light. All abundances and ages are obtained using our original technique for high-resolution integrated light abundance analysis of globular clusters. The clusters have a range in [Fe/H] between -1.6 and -0.2. In this sample, the average [Ca/Fe] for clusters with [Fe/H] <-0.4 is +0.37 {+-} 0.07, while the average [Ca/Fe] in our Milky Way (MW) and M31 GC samples is +0.29 {+-} 0.09 and +0.24 {+-} 0.10, respectively. This may imply a more rapid chemical enrichment history for NGC 5128 than for either the MW or M31. This sample provides the first quantitative picture of the chemical history of NGC 5128 that is directly comparable to what is available for the MW. Data presented here were obtained with the MIKE echelle spectrograph on the Magellan Clay Telescope.
- OSTI ID:
- 22136562
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 773, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Globular clusters in the inner regions of NGC 5128 (CENTAURUS A)
CHEMODYNAMICS OF COMPACT STELLAR SYSTEMS IN NGC 5128: HOW SIMILAR ARE GLOBULAR CLUSTERS, ULTRA-COMPACT DWARFS, AND DWARF GALAXIES?