ACS Photometry of Extended, Luminous Globular Clusters in the Outskirts of M31

Abstract

A new population of extended, luminous globular clusters has recently been discovered in the outskirts of M31. These objects have luminosities typical of classical globular clusters, but much larger half-light radii. We report the first results from deep ACS imaging of four such clusters, one of which is a newly discovered example lying at a projected distance of ~60 kpc from M31. Our F606W, F814W color-magnitude diagrams extend ~3 mag below the horizontal branch level, and clearly demonstrate, for the first time, that all four clusters are composed of >~10 Gyr old, metal-poor stellar populations. No evidence for multiple populations is observed. From a comparison with Galactic globular cluster fiducials we estimate metallicities in the range -2.2<~[Fe/H]<~-1.8. The observed horizontal branch morphologies show a clear second parameter effect between the clusters. Preliminary radial luminosity profiles suggest integrated magnitudes in the range -7.7<~M_V<~-6.6, near the median value of the globular cluster luminosity function. Our results confirm that these four objects are bona fide old, metal-poor globular clusters, albeit with combined structures and luminosities unlike those observed for any other globular clusters in the Local Group or beyond.

Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program 10394.