Journal
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Volume 456, Issue 1, Pages 617-632Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv2636
Keywords
galaxies: fundamental parameters; galaxies: stellar content
Categories
Funding
- ARC [DP130100388]
- NSF [AST-1109878, AST-1515084, AST-1518294, AST-9987045]
- DFG via Emmy Noether Grant [Ko 4161/1]
- NSF Telescope System Instrumentation Program (TSIP)
- Ohio Board of Regents
- Ohio State University Office of Research
- W.M. Keck Foundation
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- National Science Foundation
- US Department of Energy Office of Science
- University of Arizona
- Brazilian Participation Group
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Carnegie Mellon University
- University of Florida
- French Participation Group
- German Participation Group
- Harvard University
- Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias
- Michigan State/Notre Dame/JINA Participation Group
- Johns Hopkins University
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
- Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
- New Mexico State University
- New York University
- Ohio State University
- Pennsylvania State University
- University of Portsmouth
- Princeton University
- Spanish Participation Group
- University of Tokyo
- University of Utah
- Vanderbilt University
- University of Virginia
- University of Washington
- Yale University
- [GS-2011A-Q-13]
- [GS-2013A-Q-26]
- [GS-2014A-Q-30]
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Astronomical Sciences [1109878] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Astronomical Sciences
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [1515084, 1518294] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Science and Technology Facilities Council [ST/K00090X/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- STFC [ST/K00090X/1] Funding Source: UKRI
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In recent years, a growing zoo of compact stellar systems (CSSs) have been found whose physical properties (mass, size, velocity dispersion) place them between classical globular clusters (GCs) and true galaxies, leading to debates about their nature. Here we present results using a so far underutilized discriminant, their stellar population properties. Based on new spectroscopy from 8-10m telescopes, we derive ages, metallicities, and [alpha/Fe] of 29 CSSs. These range from GCs with sizes of merely a few parsec to compact ellipticals (cEs) larger than M32. Together with a literature compilation, this provides a panoramic view of the stellar population characteristics of early-type systems. We find that the CSSs are predominantly more metal rich than typical galaxies at the same stellar mass. At high mass, the cEs depart from the mass-metallicity relation of massive early-type galaxies, which forms a continuous sequence with dwarf galaxies. At lower mass, the metallicity distribution of ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) changes at a few times 10(7) M-circle dot, which roughly coincides with the mass where luminosity function arguments previously suggested the GC population ends. The highest metallicities in CSSs are paralleled only by those of dwarf galaxy nuclei and the central parts of massive early types. These findings can be interpreted as CSSs previously being more massive and undergoing tidal interactions to obtain their current mass and compact size. Such an interpretation is supported by CSSs with direct evidence for tidal stripping, and by an examination of the CSS internal escape velocities.
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