The S-PLUS Fornax Project (S+FP): Mapping Globular Clusters Systems within 5 Virial Radii around NGC 1399

Abstract We present the largest sample (∼13,000 candidates, ∼3000 of which are bona fide candidates) of globular cluster (GCs) candidates reported in the Fornax cluster so far. The survey is centered on the NGC 1399 galaxy, extending out to 5 virial radii ( R vir ) of the cluster. We carried out a photometric study using images observed in the 12-band system of the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS), corresponding to 106 pointings, covering a sky area of ∼208 square degrees. Studying the properties of spectroscopically confirmed GCs, we have designed a method to select GC candidates using structural and photometric parameters. We found evidence of color bimodality in two broadband colors, namely ( g − i ) 0 and ( g − z ) 0 , while, in the narrow bands, we did not find strong statistical evidence to confirm bimodality in any color. We analyzed the GCs luminosity functions (GCLF) in the 12 bands of S-PLUS, and we can highlight two points: (a) due to the relatively shallow depth of S-PLUS, it is only possible to observe the bright end of the GCLF and, (b) at that level, in all of the bands, it can be considered to be the log-normal distribution typical for GC systems. With the spatial coverage reached in this study, we are able, for the first time, to explore the large-scale distribution of GCs within and around a galaxy cluster. In particular, we noted that the GCs might be clustered along substructures, which trace the current cluster buildup.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astronomical Journal
Published
2025-04-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adbf0c
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
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article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.31
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article

The S-PLUS Fornax Project (S+FP): Mapping Globular Clusters Systems within 5 Virial Radii around NGC 1399

Círia Lima-Dias, Y. D. Mayya, Ana L. Chies-Santos, W. Schoenell et al.
2 citations
The Astronomical Journal
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
2.31
article

The S-PLUS Fornax Project (S+FP): Mapping Globular Clusters Systems within 5 Virial Radii around NGC 1399

Círia Lima-Dias, Y. D. Mayya, Ana L. Chies-Santos, W. Schoenell, Maria Luísa Buzzo, R. F. Haack, A. Álvarez-Candal, A. Kanaan, A. Cortesi, Thiago S. Gonçalves, A. R. Lopes, Avinash Chaturvedi, Rodrigo Clemente Thom de Souza, M. Hilker, S V Werner, T. Ribeiro, Vasiliki Fragkou, J. P. Calderón, P. K. Humire, L. A. Gutiérrez-Soto, Luis Lomelí-Núñez, Eduardo Telles, Karín Menéndez‐Delmestre, C. Mendes de Oliveira, M. Grossi, Swayamtrupta Panda, Jairo A. Alzate, A. V. Smith Castelli
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Abstract We present the largest sample (∼13,000 candidates, ∼3000 of which are bona fide candidates) of globular cluster (GCs) candidates reported in the Fornax cluster so far. The survey is centered on the NGC 1399 galaxy, extending out to 5 virial radii ( R vir ) of the cluster. We carried out a photometric study using images observed in the 12-band system of the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS), corresponding to 106 pointings, covering a sky area of ∼208 square degrees. Studying the properties of spectroscopically confirmed GCs, we have designed a method to select GC candidates using structural and photometric parameters. We found evidence of color bimodality in two broadband colors, namely ( g − i ) 0 and ( g − z ) 0 , while, in the narrow bands, we did not find strong statistical evidence to confirm bimodality in any color. We analyzed the GCs luminosity functions (GCLF) in the 12 bands of S-PLUS, and we can highlight two points: (a) due to the relatively shallow depth of S-PLUS, it is only possible to observe the bright end of the GCLF and, (b) at that level, in all of the bands, it can be considered to be the log-normal distribution typical for GC systems. With the spatial coverage reached in this study, we are able, for the first time, to explore the large-scale distribution of GCs within and around a galaxy cluster. In particular, we noted that the GCs might be clustered along substructures, which trace the current cluster buildup.

The Astronomical JournalVol. 169(5)
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR), Universidade Estadual de Maringá (BR), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR), European Southern Observatory (DE), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), Durham University (GB), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (DE), Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará (BR), National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (MX), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (BR), Valongo Observatory (BR), ASTRO-3D (AU), Centro de Estudios de Física del Cosmos de Aragón (ES), Gemini South Observatory (CL), Carnegie Observatories (US), Instituto de Geofísica y Astronomía (CU), ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (AU), Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica (BR), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (ES), Swinburne University of Technology (AU), University of La Serena (CL), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (AR)
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
2.31
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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