A Comparison of Surface Brightness Profiles for Ultracompact Dwarfs and Dwarf Elliptical Nuclei: Implications for the “Threshing” Scenario

De Propris, R., Phillipps, S., Drinkwater, M. J., Gregg, M. D., Jones, J. B., Evstigneeva, E. and Bekki, K. (2005) A Comparison of Surface Brightness Profiles for Ultracompact Dwarfs and Dwarf Elliptical Nuclei: Implications for the “Threshing” Scenario. The Astrophysical Journal, 623 2: L105-L108.


Author De Propris, R.
Phillipps, S.
Drinkwater, M. J.
Gregg, M. D.
Jones, J. B.
Evstigneeva, E.
Bekki, K.
Title A Comparison of Surface Brightness Profiles for Ultracompact Dwarfs and Dwarf Elliptical Nuclei: Implications for the “Threshing” Scenario
Journal name The Astrophysical Journal  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank A*)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2005-04
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1086/430207
Volume number 623
Issue number 2
ISSN 0004-637X
Start page L105
End page L108
Total pages 4
Editor Dr Robert C Kennicutt Jr
Place of publication Chicago
Publisher University of Chicago Press
Collection year 2005
Language eng
Subject C1
780102 Physical sciences
240101 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Abstract Using imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope, we derive surface brightness profiles for ultracompact dwarfs in the Fornax Cluster and for the nuclei of dwarf elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. Ultracompact dwarfs are more extended and have higher surface brightnesses than typical dwarf nuclei, while the luminosities, colors, and sizes of the nuclei are closer to those of Galactic globular clusters. This calls into question the production of ultracompact dwarfs via threshing, whereby the lower surface brightness envelope of a dwarf elliptical galaxy is removed by tidal processes, leaving behind a bare nucleus. Threshing may still be a viable model if the relatively bright Fornax ultracompact dwarfs considered here are descended from dwarf elliptical galaxies whose nuclei are at the upper end of their luminosity and size distributions.
Keyword Galaxies : Dwarf
Galaxies : Star Clusters
Galaxies : Structure
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Galaxies
Massive Star-clusters
Fornax Cluster
Space-telescope
Virgo Cluster
Compact Galaxies
Catalog
Photometry
Redshift
Systems
Number
Q-Index Code C1

 
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