THE SURFACE BRIGHTNESS FLUCTUATIONS AND GLOBULAR-CLUSTER POPULATION OF NGC-4478

We calculate the distance to NGC 4478, a neighbor of the giant Virgo e lliptical M87, using the surface brightness fluctuations method on par allel data from the HST WFPC2 camera. The exposures considered were ta ken through the F814W filter, which approximates the Johnson I, and th rough the F606W filter, which is effectively a broad V filter. We desc ribe the use of Fourier methods for separation of the fluctuations due to statistical variations in the projected number of stars per pixel (used to determine the distance) from fluctuations from other sources, which include photon noise, foreground stars, cosmic rays, and the va riations due to the overall structure of the galaxy. The mean apparent magnitude of stars responsible for the measured fluctuations is (m) o ver bar(I) = 29.78 +/- 0.03, with an additional systematic uncertainty of 0.05 mag. Using the latest calibration of Tonry (1997), we obtain a distance of 15.6 +/- 1.0 Mpc, which is consistent with the distance determined through the use of this method in the infrared K band by Pa hre & Mould (1994). We discuss the globular cluster (GC) luminosity fu nction and color distribution, based on the similar to 130 candidates identified in the field. We find a roughly Gaussian luminosity functio n centered at m(V) = 23.82 +/- 0.38 with sigma = 1.16 +/- 0.21. The GC color distribution is also roughly Gaussian, centered at V-I = 0.91 /- 0.03, with sigma = 0.20 +/- 0.03, and it is coincident to within th e error bars with the blue peak of the bimodal color distribution foun d in M87. Comparing our data with recent evaluations of the GC color d istribution at two different locations in M87 we find a trend of the r ed peak disappearing with radial distance. We speculate that this coul d be-understood if the blue portion of the M87 GC population were acqu ired from its smaller companions. The specific frequency of globular c lusters is among the lowest for elliptical galaxies, comparable only t o the value found in M32. In both cases this may be a result of tidal truncation by a giant neighbor. This further indicates that clusters h ave been stripped from NGC 4478 by M87 and likely now are part of its globular duster population.