The merger remnant NGC 3610 and its globular cluster system: a
  large-scale study
  We present a photometric study of the prototype merger remnant NGC 3610 and
its globular cluster (GC) system, based on new GEMINI/GMOS and ACS/HST archival
images. Thanks to the large FOV of our GMOS data, larger than previous studies,
we are able to detect a `classical' bimodal GC colour distribution,
corresponding to metal-poor and metal-rich GCs, at intermediate radii and a
small subsample of likely young clusters of intermediate colours, mainly
located in the outskirts. The extent of the whole GC system is settled as about
40 kpc. The GC population is quite poor, about 500 +/- 110 members, that
corresponds to a low total specific frequency S_N ~ 0.8. The effective radii of
a cluster sample are determined, including those of two spectroscopically
confirmed young and metal-rich clusters, that are in the limit between GC and
UCD sizes and brightness. The large-scale galaxy surface-brightness profile can
be decomposed as an inner embedded disc and an outer spheroid, determining for
both larger extents than earlier research (10 kpc and 30 kpc, respectively). We
detect boxy isophotes, expected in merger remnants, and show a wealth of
fine-structure in the surface-brightness distribution with unprecedented
detail, coincident with the outer spheroid. The lack of symmetry in the galaxy
colour map adds a new piece of evidence to the recent merger scenario of NGC
3610.
