1209.0356 (L. Coccato et al.)

Signatures of accretion events in the halos of early-type galaxies from comparing PNe and GCs kinematics    [PDF]

L. Coccato, O. Gerhard, M. Arnaboldi

We have compared the halo kinematics traced by globular clusters (GCs) and planetary nebulae (PNe) for two elliptical galaxies in dense environments (NGC 1399 and NGC 4649) and for the merger remnant Cen A. We find differences in the rotational properties of the PNe, red GCs, or blue GCs systems in all three galaxies and some indication for substructures. We interpret these as signatures of tidal stripping or accretion of small galaxies, showing that low luminosity and dwarf galaxies have a higher specific frequency of GCs than PNe.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1209.0356