The origin of the large magellanic cloud globular cluster NGC2005

Abstract

The ancient Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) globular cluster NGC 2005 has recently been reportedto have an ex-situ origin, thus, setting precedents that the LMC could have partially formed fromsmaller merged dwarf galaxies. We here provide additional arguments from which we conclude thatis also fairly plausible an in-situ origin of NGC 2005, based on the abundance spread of a variety ofchemical elements measured in dwarf galaxies, their minimum mass in order to form globular clusters,the globular cluster formation imprints kept in their kinematics, and the recent modeling showingthat explosions of supernovae are responsible for the observed chemical abundance spread in dwarfgalaxies. The present analysis points to the need for further development of numerical simulations andobservational indices that can help us to differentiate between two mechanisms of galaxy formation forthe LMC, namely, a primordial dwarf or an initial merging event of smaller dwarfs.