INTRACLUSTER GLOBULAR-CLUSTERS

Globular cluster populations of supergiant elliptical galaxies are kno wn to vary widely, from extremely populous systems like that of UGC 97 99, the centrally dominant galaxy in Abell 2052, to globular-cluster-p oor galaxies such as NGC 5629 in Abell 2666. Here we propose that thes e variations point strongly to the existence of a population of globul ar clusters that are not bound to individual galaxies but, rather, mov e freely throughout the cores of clusters of galaxies. Such intraclust er globular clusters may have originated as tidally stripped debris fr om galaxy interactions and mergers, or, alternatively, they may have f ormed in situ in some scenarios of globular cluster formation.