Intermediate-age globular clusters in four galaxy merger remnants

We present the results of combining Hubble Space Telescope optical photometry with ground-based Ks -band photometry from the Gemini imagers NIRI and FLAMINGOS-I to study the globular cluster (GC) populations in four early-type galaxies that are candidate remnants of recent mergers (NGC 1700, NGC 2865, NGC 4382, and NGC 7727). These galaxies were chosen based on their blue colors and fine structure, such as shells and ripples that are indicative of past interactions. We fit the combined VIKs GC data with simple toy models of mixed cluster populations that contain three subpopulations of different age and metallicity. The fits, done via chi-squared mapping of the parameter space, yield clear evidence for the presence of intermediate-age clusters in each galaxy. We find that the ages of ~1-2 Gyr for these GC subpopulations are consistent with the previously estimated merger ages for the host galaxies.