A Near-Infrared Photometric Plane for Elliptical Galaxies and Bulges of Spiral Galaxies.
We report the existence of a single plane in the space of global photometric parameters describing elliptical galaxies and the bulges of early-type spiral galaxies. The three parameters that define the plane are obtained by fitting the Sersic form to the brightness distribution obtained from near-infrared K-band images. We find, from the range covered by their shape parameters, that the elliptical galaxies form a more homogeneous population than the bulges. Known correlations like the Kormendy relation are projections of the photometric plane. The existence of the plane has interesting implications for bulge formation models.
Khosroshahi
HG
Wadadekar
Y
Kembhavi
A
Mobasher
B