Massive star clusters in ongoing galaxy interactions: Clues to cluster formation

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Date
2003-09
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University of Chicago Press
Abstract

We present HST WFPC2 observations, supplemented by ground-based Halpha data, of the star-cluster populations in two pairs of interacting galaxies selected for being in very different kinds of encounters seen at different stages. Dynamical information and n-body simulations provide the details of encounter geometry, mass ratio, and timing. In NGC 5752/4 we are seeing a weak encounter, well past closest approach, after about 2.5 x 10(8) yr. The large spiral NGC 5754 has a normal population of disk clusters, while the fainter companion NGC 5752 exhibits a rich population of luminous clusters with a flatter luminosity function. The strong, ongoing encounter in NGC 6621/2, seen about 1.0 x 10(8) yr past closest approach between roughly equal-mass galaxies, has produced an extensive population of luminous clusters, particularly young and luminous in a small region between the two nuclei. This region is dynamically interesting, with such a strong perturbation in the velocity field that the rotation curve reverses sign. From these results, in comparison with other strongly interacting systems discussed in the literature, cluster formation requires a threshold level of perturbation, with stage of the interaction a less important factor. The location of the most active star formation in NGC 6621/2 draws attention to a possible role for the Toomre stability threshold in shaping star formation in interacting galaxies. The rich cluster populations in NGC 5752 and NGC 6621 show that direct contact between gas-rich galaxy disks is not a requirement to form luminous clusters and that they can be triggered by processes happening within a single galaxy disk ( albeit triggered by external perturbations).

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Keywords
galaxies : individual (NGC 5752, NGC 5754, NGC 6621, NGC 6622), galaxies : interactions, galaxies : star clusters, SPIRAL GALAXIES, LUMINOSITY FUNCTION, STELLAR PHOTOMETRY, DISK, WFPC2, ANTENNAE, REGIONS, PAIRS, TAILS, Astronomy & Astrophysics
Citation
Keel, W., Borne, K. (2003): Massive Star Clusters in Ongoing Galaxy Interactions: Clues to Cluster Formation. The Astronomical Journal, 126(3). DOI: 10,1086/377482