The Formation of Giant Elliptical Galaxies and Their Globular Cluster Systems

We examine the formation of giant elliptical galaxies using their globular cluster (GC) systems as probes of their evolutionary history. The bimodal distributions of GC metallicities in such galaxies are often cited as evidence for the formation of giant elliptical galaxies through mergers involving gas-rich spirals, with the metal-rich GCs forming during the merger process. We explore an alternative possibility: that these metal-rich clusters represent the galaxy's intrinsic GC population and that the metal-poor component of the observed GC metallicity distribution arises from the capture of GCs from other galaxies, either through mergers or through tidal stripping. Starting with plausible assumptions for the luminosity function of galaxies in the host Sherman M. Fairchild Fellow Hubble Fellow Also CITA Senior Visiting Fellow, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 60 Saint George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 1A7, Canada.