The Velocity Dispersion Function of Early-Type Galaxies
Abstract
The distribution of early-type galaxy velocity dispersions, φ(σ), is measured using a sample drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey database. Its shape differs significantly from that obtained by simply using the mean correlation between luminosity L and velocity dispersion σ to transform the luminosity function into a velocity function: ignoring the scatter around the mean σ-L relation is a bad approximation. An estimate of the contribution from late-type galaxies is also made, which suggests that φ(σ) is dominated by early-type galaxies at velocities larger than ~200 km s-1.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- September 2003
- DOI:
- 10.1086/376794
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/0303092
- Bibcode:
- 2003ApJ...594..225S
- Keywords:
-
- Galaxies: Elliptical and Lenticular;
- cD;
- Galaxies: Evolution;
- Galaxies: Fundamental Parameters;
- Galaxies: Photometry;
- Galaxies: Stellar Content;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Minor changes, matches version to appear in ApJ, 1 September 2003