The velocity dispersion function of early-type galaxies

Ravi K. Sheth, Mariangela Bernardi, Paul L. Schechter, Scott Burles, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Douglas P. Finkbeiner, Joshua Frieman, Robert H. Lupton, David J. Schlegel, Mark Subbarao, K. Shimasaku, Neta A. Bahcall, J. Brinkmann, Zeljko Ivezić

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

196 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)225-231
Number of pages7
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume594
Issue number1 I
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2003

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

Keywords

  • Galaxies: Stellar content
  • Galaxies: elliptical and lenticular, cD
  • Galaxies: evolution
  • Galaxies: fundamental parameters
  • Galaxies: photometry

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