Spectroscopy of M81 Globular Clusters

TL;DR

This study spectroscopically confirmed 62 new globular clusters in M81, analyzed their metallicities and kinematics, revealing a predominantly metal-rich, rotating system with possible bimodal metallicity distribution.

Contribution

First spectroscopic confirmation of over half of M81's globular clusters, with detailed analysis of their metallicity and rotational properties, expanding understanding of M81's GC system.

Findings

62 new globular clusters confirmed spectroscopically

Mean metallicity of the system is -1.06, higher than M31 and Milky Way

Evidence of metallicity bimodality and rotational kinematics in the GC system

Abstract

We obtained spectra of 74 globular clusters in M81. These globular clusters had been identified as candidates in an HST ACS I-band survey. 68 of these 74 clusters lie within 7' of the M81 nucleus. 62 of these clusters are newly spectroscopically confirmed, more than doubling the number of confirmed M81 GCs from 46 to 108. We determined metallicities for our 74 observed clusters using an empirical calibration based on Milky Way globular clusters. We combined our results with 34 M81 globular cluster velocities and 33 metallicities from the literature and analyzed the kinematics and metallicity of the M81 globular cluster system. The mean of the total sample of 107 metallicities is -1.06 +/- 0.07, higher than either M31 or the Milky Way. We suspect this high mean metallicity is due to an overrepresentation of metal-rich clusters in our sample created by the spatial limits of the HST I-band survey. The metallicity distribution shows marginal evidence for bimodality, with metal-rich and metal-poor peaks approximately matching those of M31 and the Milky Way. The GC system as a whole, and the metal-poor GCs alone, show evidence of a radial metallicity gradient. The M81 globular cluster system as a whole shows strong evidence of rotation, with V_r(deprojected) = 108 +/- 22 km/s overall. This result is likely biased toward high rotational velocity due to overrepresentation of metal-rich, inner clusters. The rotation patterns among globular cluster subpopulations are roughly similar to those of the Milky Way: clusters at small projected radii and metal-rich clusters rotate strongly, while clusters at large projected radii and metal-poor clusters show weaker evidence of rotation.