Constraints on mass loss of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies

TL;DR

This paper investigates the mass loss constraints of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies, focusing on their initial mass and metallicity distribution to understand their evolution and impact on galaxy properties.

Contribution

It provides new constraints on the initial mass and metallicity of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies based on their current metallicity and luminosity distributions.

Findings

Globular clusters in Fornax could have been 4-5 times more massive initially.

In IKN, GCs account for about 13% of total V-band luminosity.

Most metal-poor stars are in GCs, indicating significant initial cluster mass.

Abstract

The Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy is well known for its very high globular cluster specific frequency, SN=26. Furthermore, while the field star metallicity distribution peaks at [Fe/H]=-1, four of the five GCs have [Fe/H]<-2. Only about 5 percent of the field stars have such low metallicities. Hence, a very large fraction of about 1/5-1/4 of the most metal-poor stars belong to the four most metal-poor GCs. This implies that these clusters could, at most, have been a factor of 4-5 more massive initially. A second, even more extreme case may be the IKN dwarf galaxy where SN=124. Although metallicities are not accurately known, the GCs account for about 13 percent of the total V-band luminosity of IKN.