Relative Ages of the Globular Cluster Subpopulations in M87

Abstract.

We present a determination of the relative age between the globular cluster (GC) subpopulations in M87 using Strömgren photometry from HST. Our technique assumes that the turnover of the GC luminosity function reflects the same mass for both subpopulations. Here we present some supporting evidence for this assumption based on Galactic GCs. We find the subpopulations in M87 to be coeval within our uncertainties, in agreement with previous spectroscopic studies, and favoring a picture in which the GCs associated with this galaxy are formed rapidly and at high redshift.