Formation and evolution of dwarf elliptical galaxies: Structural and kinematical properties

Author(s)
Sven de Rijcke, Dolf Michielsen, Herwig B. Dejonghe, Werner Zeilinger, George K T Hau
Abstract

We confront predictions of the currently popular theories for dE formation and evolution with the observed position of dEs in log LB vs. log ?, log LB vs. log Re, log LB vs. log Ie, and log Re vs. log Ie diagrams and in the (log ?,log Re,log Ie) parameter space in which bright and intermediate-luminosity elliptical galaxies and bulges of spirals define a Fundamental Plane (FP). We show that the dE sequences in the various univariate diagrams are disjunct from those traced by bright and intermediate-luminosity elliptical galaxies and bulges of spirals. It appears that semi-analytical models (SAMs) that incorporate quiescent star formation with an essentially z-independent star-formation efficiency, combined with post-merger starbursts and the dynamical response after supernova-driven gas-loss, are able to reproduce the position of the dEs in the various univariate and bivariate diagrams.

Organisation(s)
Department of Astrophysics
External organisation(s)
Ghent University , University of Nottingham, European Southern Observatory (Germany)
Pages
316-321
No. of pages
6
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921305003984
Publication date
2005
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
1030 Physics, Astronomy
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/e4f049e9-0438-4a41-aec2-20853b4bc414