Structural evolution in elliptical galaxies: the age-shape relation

Details Structural evolution in elliptical galaxies: the age-shape relation Structural evolution in elliptical galaxies: the age-shape relation

2001-05-23

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0105414v1

Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 326 (2001) 1141

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

8 pages, 4 figures, accepted by MNRAS

Scientific paper

10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04673.x

We test the hypothesis that the apparent axis ratio of an elliptical galaxy is correlated with the age of its stellar population. We find that old ellipticals (with estimated stellar ages t > 7.5 Gyr) are rounder on average than younger ellipticals. The statistical significance of this shape difference is greatest at small radii; a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test comparing the axis ratios of the two populations at R = Re/16 yields a statistical significance greater than 99.96 percent. The relation between age and apparent axis ratio is linked to the core/powerlaw surface brightness profile dichotomy. Core ellipticals have older stellar populations, on average, than powerlaw ellipticals and are rounder in their inner regions. Our results are consistent with a scenario in which powerlaw ellipticals are formed in gas-rich mergers while core ellipticals form in dissipationless mergers, with cores formed and maintained by the influence of a binary black hole.

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