Globular clusters around NGC 1399

Photometry for 420 globular cluster candidates is presented. Metal abundances internally precise to approx. 0.25 dex and accurate to approx. 0.3 dex have been obtained for some 250 of the best candidates, after statistically subtracting a field contamination estimated at 30%. The mean abundance of -0.9 +/- 0.2 confirms previous indications that the NGC 1399 globular cluster system is, on average, significantly more metal rich than that of the Galaxy, as expected from the relative parent galaxy luminosities.

Approximately 10% of the clusters exceed solar abundance, similar to the case for NGC 5128. The signature of possible globular cluster formation in mergers, as suggested by Ashman and Zepf [ApJ, 384, 50 (1992)], is found in the distinct peaks in the metallicity distribution function. However, their prediction (based on a simple theory designed only for application to normal elliptical galaxies and not the more complicated cD galaxies represented by NGC 1399) that the color difference between the clusters and the background halo light monotonically increases with radius is not borne out by the observations.

The difference decreases with radius from the center to approx. 2 arcmin; beyond this radius, the difference does appear to increase, however. At all radii, the mean globular cluster abundance is some 0.25-0.5 dex more metal poor than that of the background halo.