Star Cluster Populations in the Outer Disks of Nearby Galaxies

TL;DR

This study uses deep imaging to analyze star cluster populations in the outer disks of nearby galaxies, revealing their properties, distribution, and possible formation mechanisms beyond the optical radius.

Contribution

It provides new observational data on star clusters in galaxy outskirts, extending previous work with deeper imaging and analyzing their spatial distribution and formation processes.

Findings

Star clusters are found up to 3-4 times the optical radius.

Clusters have masses around 10^3 solar masses and ages up to 1 Gyr.

Cluster formation rate is at least one every 2.5 million years in the outer disk.

Abstract

We present a Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) imaging study that characterizes the star cluster component of nearby galaxy outer disks (beyond the optical radius R_25). Expanding on the pilot project of Herbert-Fort et al. (2009), we present deep (~ 27.5 mag V-band point-source limiting magnitude) U- and V-band imaging of six galaxies: IC 4182, NGC 3351, NGC 4736, NGC 4826, NGC 5474, and NGC 6503. We find that the outer disk of each galaxy is populated with marginally-resolved star clusters with masses ~10^3 M_sun and ages up to ~ 1 Gyr (masses and ages are limited by the depth of our imaging and uncertainties are large given how photometry can be strongly affected by the presence or absence of a few stars in such low mass systems), and that they are typically found out to at least 2 R_25 but sometimes as far as 3 to 4 R_25- even beyond the apparent HI disk. The mean rate of cluster formation for 1 R_25<= R <= 1.5R_25 is at least one every ~2.5 Myr and the clusters are spatially correlated with the HI, most strongly with higher density gas near the periphery of the optical disk and with lower density neutral gas at the HI disk periphery. We hypothesize that the clusters near the edge of the optical disk are formed in the extension of spiral structure from the inner disk and are a fairly consistent phenomenon and that the clusters formed at the periphery of the HI disk are the result of accretion episodes.