Related papers: Caracterizaci\'on de galaxias el\'ipticas en conte…
Globular cluster systems provide valuable fossil records of the formation history of their parent galaxies. This review specifically concentrates on using color distributions of the globular cluster systems of elliptical galaxies to…
I present various projects to study the halo dynamics of elliptical galaxies. This allows one to study the outer mass and orbital distributions of ellipticals in different environments, and the inner distributions of groups and clusters…
Using N-body+hydro simulations we study relations between the local environments of galaxies on 0.5 Mpc scale and properties of the luminous components of galaxies. Our numerical simulations include effects of star formation and supernova…
We introduce a procedure developed by the ``Teramo Stellar Populations Tools'' group (Teramo-SPoT), specifically optimized to obtain realistic simulations of CCD images of elliptical galaxies. Particular attention is devoted to include the…
Globular clusters are valuable fossil records of the formation and evolution of their host galaxies. The color distribution of elliptical galaxy globular cluster systems indicates an episodic formation history, consistent with a merger…
We test the hypothesis that elliptical galaxies are formed by violent mergers in a universe with hierarchical structure formation. Within the framework of a semi-analytic scheme for galaxy formation, we predict the distribution of…
We take advantage of the largest high-resolution simulation of cosmic structure growth ever carried out -- the Millennium Simulation of the concordance LambdaCDM cosmogony -- to study how the star formation histories, ages and metallicities…
A review of the present observational and theoretical status of elliptical galaxies is presented with the aim to clarify whether the monolithic or the hierarchical, is a more viable scenario for the origin of these structures. We describe…
The statistical properties of the ellipticities of galaxy images depend on how galaxies form and evolve, and therefore constrain models of galaxy morphology, which are key to the removal of the intrinsic alignment contamination of…
Aims:In this study we investigate the evolution of shape and kinematics of elliptical galaxies in a cosmological framework. Methods: We use a set of hydrodynamic, self-consistent simulations operating in the context of a concordance…
An overview over the current status of modeling galaxies by means of numerical simulations is given. After a short description of how galaxies form in hierarchically clustering scenarios, success and failures of current simulations are…
We report on a complete CCD imaging survey of 226 elliptical galaxies in the North-East quadrant of the Virgo cluster, representative of the properties of giant and dwarf elliptical galaxies in this cluster. We fit their radial light…
The halo masses of nearby individual elliptical galaxies can be estimated by using the kinematics of their stars, planetary nebulae, and globular clusters -- ideally in combination. With currently improving coverage of galaxies of ordinary…
Galaxy clusters constitute powerful cosmological probes thanks to comparisons between observed and simulated clusters. As such Virgo constitutes a formidable source for detailed observations facilitated by its proximity. However, the…
The last decade of research on elliptical galaxies has produced a wealth of new information concerning both their detailed structure and their global scaling relations. We review the old and new results about isophote shapes and…
In hierarchical models of galaxy formation, ellipticals form from the merging of disk galaxies drawn together by gravity as their surrounding dark halos coalesce. Using semi-analytic techniques, we are able to follow the merging, star…
Various models of modified gravity invoke ``screening'' mechanisms that are sensitive to the value of the local gravitational potential. This could have observable consequences for galaxies. These consequences might be seen by comparing two…
We present the results of a series of gas dynamical cosmological simulations of the formation of individual massive field galaxies in the standard concordance \LCDM and in a \LWDM cosmology. The galaxies form in an initial burst of star…
The abundance of elliptical, S0 and spiral galaxies in clusters is presented as a function of redshift comparing the results of the HST distant cluster studies with new data at z~0.2 and with the standard local comparison samples. This…
This work uses observed galaxy surface brightness profiles at high redshifts to determine the cosmological model best suited to interpret these observations. Theoretical predictions of galactic surface brightness profiles are compared to…