Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Globular Clusters in NGC 4874: Masses and Metallicities

In most nearby galaxies, photometry of the integrated light of their globular clusters (GCs) has been obtained in only two filters, yielding just a single color index. However, NGC 4874, the brightest central galaxy in the Coma Cluster, now has Hubble Space Telescope photometry available in 10 filte...

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Main Authors: Kate Hartman, William E. Harris, Jinoo Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf7ac
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author Kate Hartman
William E. Harris
Jinoo Kim
author_facet Kate Hartman
William E. Harris
Jinoo Kim
author_sort Kate Hartman
collection DOAJ
description In most nearby galaxies, photometry of the integrated light of their globular clusters (GCs) has been obtained in only two filters, yielding just a single color index. However, NGC 4874, the brightest central galaxy in the Coma Cluster, now has Hubble Space Telescope photometry available in 10 filters, giving us a special opportunity to test spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting procedures on GCs in distant galaxies. We fitted 29 of the brightest GCs with a library of SEDs from E-MILES and calculated the best-fit metallicity and mass of each cluster. Using the fitted masses and luminosities derived from the reddest magnitudes, in the flat portion of the GC spectrum, we also calculated inferred mass-to-light ratios for our sample GCs; these were in the range (M/L) ≃ 2–4, slightly larger than the average values for Milky Way GCs but within the conventional range.
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spelling doaj-art-6323ae5be7234dbeb5ba4d80ec72a3ec2025-08-26T06:17:43ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0199016510.3847/1538-4357/adf7acSpectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Globular Clusters in NGC 4874: Masses and MetallicitiesKate Hartman0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5290-6275William E. Harris1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8762-5772Jinoo Kim2https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8949-4547McMaster University , Department of Physics & Astronomy, Canada ; hartmk2@mcmaster.caMcMaster University , Department of Physics & Astronomy, Canada ; hartmk2@mcmaster.caMcMaster University , Department of Physics & Astronomy, Canada ; hartmk2@mcmaster.caIn most nearby galaxies, photometry of the integrated light of their globular clusters (GCs) has been obtained in only two filters, yielding just a single color index. However, NGC 4874, the brightest central galaxy in the Coma Cluster, now has Hubble Space Telescope photometry available in 10 filters, giving us a special opportunity to test spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting procedures on GCs in distant galaxies. We fitted 29 of the brightest GCs with a library of SEDs from E-MILES and calculated the best-fit metallicity and mass of each cluster. Using the fitted masses and luminosities derived from the reddest magnitudes, in the flat portion of the GC spectrum, we also calculated inferred mass-to-light ratios for our sample GCs; these were in the range (M/L) ≃ 2–4, slightly larger than the average values for Milky Way GCs but within the conventional range.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf7acGlobular star clustersMetallicityStellar colors
spellingShingle Kate Hartman
William E. Harris
Jinoo Kim
Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Globular Clusters in NGC 4874: Masses and Metallicities
The Astrophysical Journal
Globular star clusters
Metallicity
Stellar colors
title Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Globular Clusters in NGC 4874: Masses and Metallicities
title_full Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Globular Clusters in NGC 4874: Masses and Metallicities
title_fullStr Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Globular Clusters in NGC 4874: Masses and Metallicities
title_full_unstemmed Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Globular Clusters in NGC 4874: Masses and Metallicities
title_short Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Globular Clusters in NGC 4874: Masses and Metallicities
title_sort spectral energy distribution fitting of globular clusters in ngc 4874 masses and metallicities
topic Globular star clusters
Metallicity
Stellar colors
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf7ac
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AT williameharris spectralenergydistributionfittingofglobularclustersinngc4874massesandmetallicities
AT jinookim spectralenergydistributionfittingofglobularclustersinngc4874massesandmetallicities