Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/1102

Title

Near-infrared imaging of ellipticals : surface brightness profiles and photometry

Author(s)

Bothun, Greg;  Brodie, Jean P.;  Brown, Richard J.;  Forbes, Duncan A.;  Goudfrooij, Paul;  Hau, George K.;  Helsdon, Stephen F.;  Ponman, Trevor J.;  Silva, David

Abstract

We present near-infrared K-band imaging of a large sample of candidate merger remnant galaxies and Hickson Compact Group ellipticals. We derive light profile indices, effective radii and surface brightnesses, as well as total K-band magnitudes. We find that the light distributions of the merger remnant candidates are consistent with those of `normal' ellipticals, and scatter around a mean profile index of (1/n) = 0.20. Many of our sample galaxies have surface brightness profiles that are not well described by a de Vaucouleurs law (1/n= 0.25), and we discuss the implications of this on the derived total magnitudes. Comparing the total K magnitudes calculated by extrapolating a de Vaucouleurs profile and those derived using a generalized Sérsic form, we find that a significant bias is introduced if the de Vaucouleurs law is not a good description of the actual light profile.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. School of Biophysical Sciences and Electrical Engineering.Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing

Source

Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 341, no. 3 (May 2003), pp. 747-759

Publication year

2003

Keyword(s)

galaxies: elliptical and lenticular, cD;  galaxies: evolution;  galaxies: photometry

Publisher

Blackwell Publishers

Format

pp. 747-759

ISSN

0035-8711

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.05947.x

Copyright

© 2003 RAS.

Peer reviewed