Optical-near-IR analysis of globular clusters in the IKN dwarf spheroidal: a complex star formation history

Abstract

Age, metallicity and spatial distribution of globular clusters (GCs) provide a powerful tool to reconstruct major star-formation episodes in galaxies. IKN is a faint dwarf spheroidal (dSph) in the M81 group of galaxies. It contains five old GCs, which makes it the galaxy with the highest known specific frequency (SN=126). We estimate the photometric age, metallicity and spatial distribution of the poorly studied IKN GCs. We search SDSS for GC candidates beyond the HST field of view, which covers half of IKN. To break the age-metallicity degeneracy in the V-I colour we use WHT/LIRIS Ks-band photometry and derive photometric ages and metallicities by comparison with SSP models in the V,I,Ks colour space. IKN GCs' VIKs colours are consistent with old ages ($\geq\!8$ Gyr) and a metallicity distribution with a higher mean than typical for such a dSph ([Fe/H$]\!\simeq\!-1.4_{-0.2}^{+0.6}$ dex). Their photometric masses range ($0.5 <{\cal M_{\rm GC}}<4\times10^5M_\odot$) implies a high mass ratio between GCs and field stars, of $10.6\%$. Mixture model analysis of the RGB field stars' metallicity suggests that 72\% of the stars may have formed together with the GCs. Using the most massive GC-SFR relation we calculate a SFR of $\sim\!10M_\odot/$yr during its formation epoch. We note that the more massive GCs are closer to the galaxy photometric centre. IKN GCs also appear spatially aligned along a line close to the IKN major-axis and nearly orthogonal to the plane of spatial distribution of galaxies in the M81 group. We identify one new IKN GC candidate based on colour and PSF analysis of the SDSS data. The evidence towards i) broad and high metallicity distribution of the field IKN RGB stars and its GCs, ii) high fraction and iii), spatial alignment of IKN GCs, supports a scenario for tidally triggered complex IKN's SFH in the context of interactions with galaxies in the M81 group.