Analysis of the Distribution of Globular Clusters - Specific Frequency in Different Galaxy Types

Mina S.  Issa; Ahmed H.  Abdullah

doi:10.24996/ijs.2026.67.5.%g

Authors

Mina S. Issa Department of Astronomy and Space, College of Science, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Ahmed H. Abdullah Department of Astronomy and Space, College of Science, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1165-7924

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24996/ijs.2026.67.5.%25g

Keywords:

Globular clusters, number of GCs, specific frequency, specific masses, specific numbers

Abstract

Globular clusters (GC) are important objects for tracing a galaxy's early evolution. The origin of the scaling parameters of the globular clusters as a function of galaxy mass, i.e., specific frequency, (S_N), specific mass (S_M), and specific number (T) of globular clusters is investigated to understand the origin of the relations between these parameters and the V-band magnitude (M_V) of their host galaxies. A wide sample of data from literature, covering different galaxy masses, types, and environments, including a study of the number of globular clusters (N_GC) has been used as the basis for our analysis. The sample covers the entire range of galaxy (M_V = −11 to −25 mag), where this large dataset confirms that, irrespective of the type of galaxy, the specific frequencies of GCs increase around a galaxy magnitude, of M_V ≃ −18 mag. Additionally, it is shown by our findings that the specific mass of GCs tends to increase significantly in galaxies with M_V ≃ −21 mag, while the specific number rises considerably in lower-luminosity galaxies with M_V ≃ −17 mag. Thus, highlighting the variations of GC formation efficiency, across different galaxy types.