A New Metal-poor Globular Cluster and Resolved Stars in the Outer Disk of the Black Eye Galaxy M64: Implication for the Origin of the Type III Disk Break
Abstract
M64 is a nearby spiral galaxy with a Type III antitruncation component. To trace the origin of the Type III component, we present Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) F606W/F814W photometry of resolved stars in a field located in the outer disk ( $2\buildrel{\,\prime}\over{.} 5\lesssim r\lesssim 6\buildrel{\,\prime}\over{.} 5$ ) of M64. At $r\approx 5\buildrel{\,\prime}\over{.} 5$ (7 kpc) to the east, we discover a new metal-poor globular cluster ( ${R}_{\mathrm{eff}}=5.73\pm 0.02$ pc and MV = -9.54 ± 0.09 mag), M64-GC1. This is the first globular cluster found in M64. The color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the resolved stars in M64-GC1 is well matched by 12 Gyr isochrones with [Fe/H] = -1.5 ± 0.2, showing that this cluster belongs to a halo. The CMD of the resolved stars in the entire ACS field shows two distinguishable red giant branches (RGBs): a curved metal-rich RGB and a vertical metal-poor RGB. The metal-rich RGB represents an old metal-rich ([Fe/H] ≈ -0.4) disk population. In contrast, the CMD of the metal-poor RGB stars is very similar to the CMD of M64-GC1, showing that the metal-poor RGB represents a halo population. The radial number-density profile of the metal-rich RGB stars is described by an exponential disk law, while the profile of the metal-poor RGB stars is described by a de Vaucouleurs's law. From these, we conclude that the origin of the Type III component in M64 is a halo that has a much lower metallicity than the disk or bulge population.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- July 2020
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2005.09633
- Bibcode:
- 2020ApJ...897..106K
- Keywords:
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- Galaxy stellar content;
- Spiral galaxies;
- Globular star clusters;
- Galaxy stellar halos;
- Galaxy disks;
- Galaxy distances;
- 598;
- 589;
- 1560;
- 590;
- 621;
- 656;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- Accepted for publication in ApJ, 16 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables