The merger remnant NGC3610 and its globular cluster system: a large-scale study

Abstract

We present a photometric study of the prototypemerger remnant NGC3610 and its globular cluster (GC) system, based on new GEMINI/GMOS and ACS/HST archival images. Thanks to the large FOV of our GMOS data, larger than previous studies, we are able to detect a ‘classical’ bimodal GC colour distribution, corresponding to metal-poor and metalrich GCs, at intermediate radii and a small subsample of likely young clusters of intermediate colours, mainly located in the outskirts. The extent of the whole GC system is settled as about 40 kpc. The GC population is quite poor, about 500± 110members that corresponds to a low total specific frequency SN ∼ 0.8. The effective radii of a cluster sample are determined, including those of two spectroscopically confirmed young and metal-rich clusters, that are in the limit between GC and UCD sizes and brightness. The large-scale galaxy surface-brightness profile can be decomposed as an inner embedded disc and an outer spheroid, determining for both larger extents than earlier research (10 kpc and 30 kpc, respectively). We detect boxy isophotes, expected in merger remnants, and show a wealth of fine-structure in the surfacebrightness distribution with unprecedented detail, coincidentwith the outer spheroid. The lack of symmetry in the galaxy colour map adds a new piece of evidence to the recent merger scenario of NGC3610.