Using globular clusters to test gravity in the weak acceleration regime : NGC 7099 ⋆

نویسندگان

  • R. Scarpa
  • G. Marconi
  • R. Gilmozzi
  • G. Carraro
چکیده

Aims. A test of Newton's law of gravity in the low acceleration regime using globular clusters is presented and new results for the core collapsed globular cluster NGC 7099 given. Methods. The run of the gravitational potential as a function of distance is probed by studying the velocity dispersion profile of the cluster, as derived from a set of 125 radial velocities with accuracy better than 1 km s −1. The velocity dispersion profile is traced up to ∼ 18 pc from the cluster center. Results. The dispersion is found to be maximal at the center, then decrease until 10 ± 2 pc from the center, well inside the cluster tidal radius of 42 pc. After that the dispersion remains basically constant with an average value of 2.2 ± 0.3 km s −1. Assuming a total V mag of M(V)=−7.43 mags for NGC 7099, the acceleration at 10 ± 2 pc from the center is 1.1 +0.4 −0.3 τ × 10 −8 cm s −2 , where τ is the mass-to-light ratio. Thus, for τ < ∼ 2 typical of globular clusters, the flattening of the velocity dispersion profile occurs for a value of the internal acceleration of gravity that is fully consistent with a 0 = 1.2 × 10 −8 cm s −2 observed in galaxies. Conclusions. This new result for NGC 7099 brings to 4 the clusters with velocity dispersion profile probing acceleration below a 0. All four have been found to have a flat dispersion profile at large radii where the acceleration is below a 0 , thereby mimicking elliptical galaxies qualitatively and quantitatively. Whether this indicates a failure of Newtonian dynamics in the low acceleration limit or some more conventional dynamical effect (e.g., tidal heating) is still unclear. However, the similarities emerging between very different globular clusters, as well as between globular clusters and elliptical galaxies, seem to favor the first of these two possibilities.

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Using globular clusters to test gravity in the weak acceleration regime : NGC 6171

As part of an ongoing program to test Newton’s law of gravity in the low acceleration regime using globular clusters, we present here new results obtained for NGC 6171. Combining VLT spectra for 107 stars with data from the literature, we were able to trace the velocity dispersion profile up to ∼ 16 pc from the cluster center, probing accelerations of gravity down to 3.5× 10−9 cm s−2. The veloc...

متن کامل

Using globular clusters to test gravity in the weak acceleration regime

We have carried out a study of the velocity dispersion of the stars in the outskirts of the globular cluster ω Cen, finding that the velocity dispersion remains constant at large radii rather than decrease monotonically. The dispersion starts to be constant for an acceleration of gravity of a = 2.1 +0.5 −0.4 × 10 −8 cm s −2. A similar result is obtained reanalyzing existing data for the globula...

متن کامل

Globular Clusters as a Test for Gravity in the Weak Acceleration Regime

Non-baryonic Dark Matter (DM) appears in galaxies and other cosmic structures when and only when the acceleration of gravity, as computed considering only baryons, goes below a well defined value a0 = 1.2 × 10 −8 cm s. This fact is extremely important and suggestive of the possibility of a breakdown of Newton’s law of gravity (or inertia) below a0, an acceleration smaller than the smallest prob...

متن کامل

Testing Newtonian Gravity with AAOmega: Mass-to-Light Profiles of Four Globular Clusters

Testing Newtonian gravity in the weak-acceleration regime is vital to our understanding of the nature of the gravitational interaction. It has recently been claimed that the velocity dispersion profiles of several globular clusters flatten out at large radii, reminiscent of galaxy rotation curves, even though globular clusters are thought to contain little or no dark matter. We investigate this...

متن کامل

Chandra X-ray Sources in the Collapsed-core Globular Cluster M30 (ngc 7099)

We report the detection of six discrete, low-luminosity (LX < 1033 erg s−1) X-ray sources, located within 12 of the center of the collapsed-core globular cluster M30 (NGC 7099), and a total of 13 sources within the half-mass radius, from a 50 ksec Chandra ACIS-S exposure. Three sources lie within the very small upper limit of 1.9 on the core radius. The brightest of the three core sources has a...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره   شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2006