Comparison of physical characteristics of globular clusters in groups and clusters of galaxies
Abstract
This article discusses the problems of the physical properties of globular clusters in galaxy clusters and groups. Observational data of globular clusters in galaxy clusters and individual groups were analyzed. Based on the catalog of globular cluster systems, an analysis was performed to find statistical patterns between their main characteristics and the parent galaxy. It was found that 98 globular cluster systems are located in groups, and 258 in galaxy clusters. The remaining 85 systems are still difficult to attribute – whether they belong to clusters or groups of galaxies. It is shown that among the galaxy groups, the Local Group occupies a special place, and the NGC 5128 group is in second place. Of the members of the Local Group, 11 galaxies contain globular cluster systems, 5 of which are in the Milky Way subgroup, and the rest attributed to the M31 subgroup. The total number of observed globular clusters in the Local Group is 724±103. Among the galaxy clusters containing globular cluster systems, the Virgo cluster ranks first, followed by Fornax and Coma Berenices. 142 globular cluster systems have been found in the Virgo cluster, of which 92 systems are elliptical galaxies. It has been shown that the elliptical galaxies of the Virgo cluster contain almost twice as many globular cluster systems, and the average number of clusters in the system is analogous. In the Fornax clusters, the total number of globular cluster systems found is 55, and in the Coma cluster, 20 systems around elliptical and lenticular galaxies have been found. Also, for two galaxy clusters, a logarithmic relationship was found between the number of globular clusters in a system and the absolute magnitude of the host galaxy