EIGHT HUNDRED NEW CANDIDATES FOR GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN NGC 5128 (Centaurus A)

We have used new wide-field imaging with the Magellan IMACS camera to search for globular cluster (GC) candidates around NGC 5128, the nearest giant E galaxy. The imaging data are in the B and R broadband filters and cover a 1.55 deg super(2) field centered on the galaxy, corresponding to an area ab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 2012-04, Vol.143 (4), p.1-10
Main Authors: Harris, Gretchen L H, Gomez, Matias, Harris, William E, Johnston, Kyle, KAZEMZADEH, FARNOUD, KERZENDORF, WOLFGANG, Geisler, Doug, Woodley, Kristin A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ACCURACY
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Broadband
CAMERAS
COLOR
COORDINATES
DISTANCE
Ellipticity
Galactic halos
GALAXIES
Globular clusters
Imaging
Lists
LUMINOSITY
OPTICAL FILTERS
Searching
STAR CLUSTERS
STARS
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Summary:We have used new wide-field imaging with the Magellan IMACS camera to search for globular cluster (GC) candidates around NGC 5128, the nearest giant E galaxy. The imaging data are in the B and R broadband filters and cover a 1.55 deg super(2) field centered on the galaxy, corresponding to an area about 90 x 90 kpc super(2) at the distance of NGC 5128. All the fields were taken under exceptionally high-quality seeing conditions (FWHM = 0".4-0".5 in R). Using this material we are able, for the first time in the literature, to construct a homogeneous list of GC candidates covering a wide span of the NGC 5128 halo and unusually free of field contaminants (foreground stars and faint background galaxies). Selecting the measured objects by color, magnitude, ellipticity, and profile size gives us a final catalog of 833 new high-quality GC candidates brighter than R = 21 (0.8 mag fainter than the standard GC luminosity function turnover point). The measured positions have better than 072 precision in both coordinates. This list can be used as the basis for spectroscopic follow-up, leading to a more comprehensive kinematic and dynamic study of the halo.
ISSN:0004-6256
1538-3881
1538-3881
DOI:10.1088/0004-6256/143/4/84