Spatial distribution of globular clusters in the Galaxy

被引:12
作者
Arakelyan, N. R. [1 ,2 ]
Pilipenko, S. V. [2 ]
Libeskind, N. I. [3 ]
机构
[1] Moscow Inst Phys & Technol, Inst Per 9, Dolgoprudnyi 141701, Moscow Region, Russia
[2] Russian Acad Sci, PN Lebedev Phys Inst, 84-32 Profsojuznaja St, Moscow 117997, Russia
[3] Leibniz Inst Astrophys, Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam, Germany
关键词
globular clusters: general; Galaxy: structure; MILKY-WAY SATELLITES; GALACTIC HALO; DWARF GALAXIES; COSMIC WEB; SYSTEMS; DISK; STREAM; SUBSYSTEMS; ALIGNMENT; VPOS;
D O I
10.1093/mnras/sty2320
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
The Milky Way's satellite galaxies and globular clusters (GCs) are known to exhibit an anisotropic spatial distribution. We examine in detail this anisotropy by the means of the inertia tensor. We estimate the statistical significance of the results by repeating this analysis for random catalogues that use the radial distribution of the real sample. Our method reproduces the well-known planar structure in the distribution of the satellite galaxies. We show that for GCs several anisotropic structures are observed. The GCs at small distances, 2 < R < 10 kpc, show a structure coplanar with the Galactic plane. At smaller and larger distances, the whole sample of GCs shows quite weak anisotropy. Nevertheless, at largest distances the orientation of the structure is close to that of the satellite galaxies, i.e. perpendicular to the Galactic plane. We estimate the probability of random realization for this structure of 1.7 per cent. The bulge-disc GCs show a clear disc-like structure lying within the Galactic disc. The old halo GCs show two structures: a well-pronounced polar elongated structure at R < 3 kpc that is perpendicular to the Galactic plane, and a less pronounced disc-like structure coplanar with the Galactic disc at 6 < R < 20 kpc. The young halo GCs do not show significant anisotropy.
引用
收藏
页码:918 / 929
页数:12
相关论文
共 47 条
  • [1] On the formation of globular cluster systems in a hierarchical Universe
    Beasley, MA
    Baugh, CM
    Forbes, DA
    Sharples, RM
    Frenk, CS
    [J]. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 2002, 333 (02) : 383 - 399
  • [2] The Galaxy in Context: Structural, Kinematic, and Integrated Properties
    Bland-Hawthorn, Joss
    Gerhard, Ortwin
    [J]. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS, VOL 54, 2016, 54 : 529 - +
  • [3] How filaments of galaxies are woven into the cosmic web
    Bond, JR
    Kofman, L
    Pogosyan, D
    [J]. NATURE, 1996, 380 (6575) : 603 - 606
  • [4] Extragalactic globular clusters and galaxy formation
    Brodie, Jean P.
    Strader, Jay
    [J]. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS, 2006, 44 : 193 - 267
  • [5] Carballo-Bello Julio A., 2014, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, V445, P2971, DOI 10.1093/mnras/stu1949
  • [6] THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE M31 SATELLITE SYSTEM; STRONG EVIDENCE FOR AN INHOMOGENEOUS DISTRIBUTION OF SATELLITES
    Conn, A. R.
    Lewis, G. F.
    Ibata, R. A.
    Parker, Q. A.
    Zucker, D. B.
    McConnachie, A. W.
    Martin, N. F.
    Valls-Gabaud, D.
    Tanvir, N.
    Irwin, M. J.
    Ferguson, A. M. N.
    Chapman, S. C.
    [J]. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2013, 766 (02)
  • [7] The formation of giant elliptical galaxies and their globular cluster systems
    Cote, P
    Marzke, RO
    West, MJ
    [J]. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 1998, 501 (02) : 554 - 570
  • [8] Globular cluster systems and the missing satellite problem:: Implications for cold dark matter models
    Côté, P
    West, MJ
    Marzke, RO
    [J]. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2002, 567 (02) : 853 - 864
  • [9] Forbes D. A., 2009, ARXIV09065370
  • [10] Destruction of the Galactic globular cluster system
    Gnedin, OY
    Ostriker, JP
    [J]. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 1997, 474 (01) : 223 - 255