The Snapshot Hubble U-Band Cluster Survey (SHUCS) II. Star Cluster Population of NGC 2997

TL;DR

This study analyzes the star cluster population of NGC 2997 using combined Hubble U-band and archival BVI imaging, revealing a mostly power-law cluster mass function, low disruption rates, and regional differences in cluster formation efficiency.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of NGC 2997's star clusters with combined multi-band imaging, highlighting the cluster mass function shape, disruption rates, and formation efficiencies, emphasizing the importance of wide-field coverage.

Findings

Cluster luminosity functions follow power-laws with indices -1.7 to -2.3.

Cluster mass function is consistent with a pure power-law of index -2.2.

Low cluster disruption rate (~-0.1) observed in both regions.

Abstract

We study the star cluster population of NGC 2997, a giant spiral galaxy located at 9.5 Mpc and targeted by the Snapshot Hubble U-band Cluster Survey (SHUCS). Combining our U-band imaging from SHUCS with archival BVI imaging from HST, we select a high confidence sample of clusters in the circumnuclear ring and disk through a combination of automatic detection procedures and visual inspection. The cluster luminosity functions in all four filters can be approximated by power-laws with indices of $-1.7$ to $-2.3$. Some deviations from pure power-law shape are observed, hinting at the presence of a high-mass truncation in the cluster mass function. However, upon inspection of the cluster mass function, we find it is consistent with a pure power-law of index $-2.2\pm0.2$ despite a slight bend at $\sim$$2.5\times10^{4}$ M$_{\odot}$. No statistically significant truncation is observed. From the cluster age distributions, we find a low rate of disruption ($\zeta\sim-0.1$) in both the disk and circumnuclear ring. Finally, we estimate the cluster formation efficiency ($\Gamma$) over the last 100 Myr in each region, finding $7\pm2$% for the disk, $12\pm4$% for the circumnuclear ring, and $10\pm3$% for the entire UBVI footprint. This study highlights the need for wide-field UBVI coverage of galaxies to study cluster populations in detail, though a small sample of clusters can provide significant insight into the characteristics of the population.