26th Australian Institute of Physics Congress and the Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics

The GECKOS Survey: Dynamics of Globular Clusters in Milky Way-mass Galaxies

Not scheduled

20m

Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

Invited talk AIP | Astronomy (ASTRO)

Description

Globular clusters (GCs) provide complementary tracers of the assembly history and dynamics of spiral galaxies. While GC systems in elliptical galaxies have been studied extensively, dynamical studies of the GC systems of spirals beyond the Local Group remain limited. In this talk, I will present results from the GECKOS survey, focusing on 19 Milky Way-mass edge-on galaxies. Using deep MUSE integral-field spectroscopy together with photometric and spectroscopic analysis, we identify 307 GCs and derive their systemic dynamics. I will compare the rotational velocity and velocity dispersion of GC systems with those of the host stellar components. In addition, I will use these measurements to place the Milky Way in the broader context, including spiral and elliptical galaxy GC systems, enabling one of the first comparisons of GC kinematics across Milky Way-mass spiral galaxies. This comparison reveals surprising diversity among spiral GC systems.