Related papers: Gravo-thermal properties and formation of elliptic…
Dynamical systems in equilibrium have a stationary entropy; we suggest that elliptical galaxies, as stellar systems in a stage of quasi-equilibrium, may have a unique specific entropy. This uniqueness, a priori unknown, should be reflected…
Self-gravitating systems such as elliptical galaxies appear to have a constant specific entropy and obey a scaling law relating their potential energy to their mass. These properties can be interpreted as due to the physical processes…
We have fitted the surface brightness of a sample of 79 elliptical galaxies pertaining to the Coma cluster of galaxies using the Sersic profile. This model is defined through three primary parameters: scale length (a), intensity (\Sigma_0),…
New surface photometry of all known elliptical galaxies in the Virgo cluster is added to published data to derive composite profiles over large dynamic ranges. Sersic functions fit them remarkably well. Effective brightnesses and radii are…
In the present paper, we show that elliptical galaxies (Es) obey a scaling relation between potential energy and mass. Since they are relaxed systems in a post violent-relaxation stage, they are quasi-equilibrium gravitational systems and…
We fit the surface-brightness profiles of 21 elliptical galaxies using both the Sersic function and a new empirical model which combines an inner power law with an outer Sersic function. The profiles are combinations of deconvolved HST…
The Nuker law was designed to match the inner few (~3-10) arcseconds of predominantly nearby (< 30 Mpc) early-type galaxy light-profiles; it was never intended to describe an entire profile. The Sersic model, on the other hand, was…
Observations consistently show that elliptical galaxies follow a tight "fundamental plane" scaling relation between size, mean surface brightness and velocity dispersion, with the form $R \propto \sigma^{a}\mu^{b}$. This relation not only…
Motivated by recent developments in our understanding of the formation and evolution of massive galaxies, we explore the detailed photometric structure of a representative sample of 94 bright, nearby elliptical galaxies, using high-quality…
Recent studies have shown that massive galaxies in the distant universe are surprisingly compact, with typical sizes about a factor of three smaller than equally massive galaxies in the nearby universe. It has been suggested that these…
We present a photometric analysis of a large sample of early-type galaxies in 16 nearby groups, imaged with the Wide-Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope. Using a two-dimensional surface brightness decomposition routine, we fit Sersic…
The physical mechanisms and timescales that determine the morphological signatures and the quenching of star formation of typical (~L*) elliptical galaxies are not well understood. To address this issue, we have simulated the formation of a…
To solve some problems of celestial mechanics and astrophysics, three new models of an elliptical galaxy (EG) have been created, which are in good agreement with modern understanding of the structure of such galaxies. Based on these models,…
We have non-parametrically determined the luminosity density profiles and their logarithmic slopes for 42 early-type galaxies observed with HST. Assuming that the isodensity contours are spheroidal, then the luminosity density is uniquely…
A new potential is presented for spherical galaxies. The technique of the construction of our model is similar to that given by An and Evans. In a special case, its mass density becomes a special one of the Hernquist model. Another special…
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…
Galaxies can be classified in two broad sequences which are likely to reflect their formation mechanism. The `main sequence', consisting of spirals, irregulars and all dwarf galaxies, is probably produced by gas settling within dark matter…
We present collisionless simulations of dry mergers in groups of three to twenty-five galaxies to test the hypothesis that elliptical galaxies form at the centers of such groups. Mock observations of the central remnants confirm their…
By considering that the distribution of measured light along any galactocentric radius of an elliptical galaxy can be well represented by a R^{1/n} Sersic law, we propose in this paper a ``discrete ordenate'' method, which, for any value of…
We present preliminary results from a project aimed at exploring elliptical galaxies in numerical simulations within cosmological context to provide possible formation scenarios for samples of observed galaxies. We studied the integrated…