Comparison between the globular clusters in NGC 5128 and the galaxy

Some of the properties of the globular clusters in NGC 5128, the nearest giant elliptical galaxy, are compared to those of Galactic globular clusters. Assuming the color-metallicity relations that hold for Galactic globular clusters, one finds that the metal-poor clusters in NGC 5128 that have [Fe/H] < -1.80 are significantly fainter than are the more metal-rich globulars in that galaxy. No such metallicity-dependent luminosity difference is observed among the globular clusters associated with the Milky Way system. Furthermore, the NGC 5128 cluster sample contains two objects that, on the basis of their observed colors, appear to be super-metal-poor. It is speculated that many of these apparently faint and metal-poor clusters in NGC 5128 are actually objects resembling intermediate-age Galactic open clusters. It is also found that large clusters with FWHM > 10 pc are typically less luminous in NGC 5128 than are their more compact counterparts. In this respect the NGC 5128 cluster system is similar to the Galactic globular cluster system, in which large clusters also tend to be less luminous than compact ones. Finally, the present data may hint at the possibility that the NGC 5128 cluster system differs from that surrounding theMilkyWay, in the sense that the NGC 5128 objects do not seem to exhibit a clear-cut gap between the regions of the FWHM-M(v) plane that are occupied by globular clusters and by dwarf spheroidal galaxies.