Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000aas...196.2906r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, 196th AAS Meeting, #29.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 32, p.717
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We test the hypothesis that the apparent shape of an elliptical galaxy is correlated with the age of its stellar population. The age estimates we use are based on luminosity-weighted absorption line indices, and are an indicator of the time since the last significant outburst of star formation in the galaxy. If, as our estimate of an elliptical galaxy's shape, we use the axis ratio of the isophote at the effective radius, we do not find a statistically significant correlation between age and shape. If, however, we use the axis ratio at only 1/16 the effective raidus, we find that ellipticals with ages greater than 8 Gyr are rounder in their inner regions than ellipticals with ages less than 8 Gyr; as measured by a KS test, the difference is significant at the P=0.0005 level for a sample of 34 galaxies. We discuss the implications of this shape difference in the context of the formation and evolution of elliptical galaxies.
Forbes Duncan A.
Ryden Barbara S.
Terlevich Alejandro I.
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