Detection of a large-scale structure of intracluster globular clusters in the Virgo cluster.
Globular clusters are usually found in galaxies, and they are excellent tracers of dark matter. Long ago it was suggested that intracluster globular clusters (IGCs) may exist that are bound to a galaxy cluster rather than to any single galaxy. Here we present a map showing the large-scale distribution of globular clusters over the entire Virgo cluster. It shows that IGCs are found out to 5 million light years from the Virgo center and that they are concentrated in several substructures that are much larger than galaxies. These objects might have been mostly stripped off from low-mass dwarf galaxies.
Astronomy Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea. mglee@astro.snu.ac.kr
Myung Gyoon
MG
Lee
Hong Soo
HS
Park
Ho Seong
HS
Hwang