Substructure in the Globular Cluster System of the Milky Way

Simple item page
dc.creatorBurkert, A.
dc.creatorSmith, G.
dc.date1996-10-23
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T02:22:08Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T02:22:08Z
dc.descriptionThe kinematical and spatial properties of the metal-rich globular clusters in the Galaxy ([Fe/H] > -0.8) indicates that these objects do not comprise a homogeneous population. Three subsystems are identified. The highest-mass clusters exhibit a very slow net rotation with a speed of v_rot = 24 km/s and v_rot/sigma = 0.3, indicative of a centrally condensed, spheroidal subsystem. Roughly half of the lower-mass clusters appear to be located in an elongated bar-like structure which passes through the Galactic Center, and has similar properties to the central stellar bar of the Milky Way. The remaining lower-mass clusters exhibit very rapid net rotation, with a rotation speed of v_rot = 164 km/s and v_rot/sigma = 6. These clusters are located in the Galactic plane, within a ring of 4 to 6 kpc radial distance from the Galactic Center. The highest-mass clusters may have formed during relatively advanced stages of the dissipative evolution of the inner Galactic halo. The lower-mass bar clusters may be associated with the formation of the Galactic stellar bar or bulge. The lower-mass ring clusters appear to be real disk objects. They may represent a stage in cluster formation that was intermediate between that of the halo globular clusters and the oldest extant open clusters.
dc.description15 pages LaTeX, 2 postscript figures. To appear in ApJ (Letters). See also http://www.mpia-hd.mpg.de/MPIA/Projects/THEORY/preprints.html
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9610181
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9610181
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/10763
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleSubstructure in the Globular Cluster System of the Milky Way
dc.typetext

Files

Collections

arXiv