Were the Large Magellanic Cloud Globular Clusters Formed in a Disk?

Abstract

The radial velocities of the 13 globular clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud have a dispersion of 28 km s$^{-1}$ relative to the HI rotation curve of the LMC, compared to a dispersion of 30 km s$^{-1}$ with regard to the mean globular cluster velocity. This shows that, contrary to a suggestion by Schommer et al. (1992), one cannot yet rule out the possibility that the LMC globular clusters formed in a pressure supported halo, rather than in rotating disk. The globular clusters in the LMC may therefore, after all, exhibit a relationship between age and kinematics that is similar to that of the clusters in M33.