Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Oct 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993a%26a...278...23b&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 278, no. 1, p. 23-28
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
42
Brightness Distribution, Elliptical Galaxies, Exponential Functions, Galactic Evolution, Astronomical Photometry, Density Distribution
Scientific paper
The intermediate axis surface brightness distribution of a large sample of elliptical galaxies is studied in detail. It is shown that the de Vaucouleurs law provides an excellent fit to the observed brightness distribution for all galaxies within the radius range 0.1 Re less than or equal to R less than or equal to 1.5 Re, with mean deviations smaller than 0.1 mag arcsec-2 and maximum deviations smaller than 0.2 mag arcsec-2. In addition, a small but well defined change in the slope of the best fitting r1/4-law is observed at a radius R approximately equals 0.4 Re. The fact that ellipticals fit the de Vaucouleurs law within the same effective radius range indicates that they not only have a remarkably similar surface density distribution but also an underlying universal volume density profile which can be well represented by a Jaffe or Hernquist Law. These results will provide strong constraints for theoretical models of E-galaxy formation.
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