The families of elliptical-like galaxies

Abstract

The majority of members of the Local Group of galaxies are dwarf elliptical and spheroidal galaxies. One of these galaxies, M32, resembles a scaled-down version of a giant elliptical. Since M32 lies in close proximity to the massive spiral M31, its structure has been modified by tidal effects due to M31. Such effects may also account for peculiarities in brightness profiles of several other dwarf elliptical companions to large galaxies. Because of their unusual appearance, these companions are considered as a separate structural class, i.e., compact ellipticals. The present investigation is based on the assumption that the types of dwarf elliptical galaxies seen in the Local Group provide a representative sample of low luminosity ellipticals. It is found that the compact dwarf ellipticals, such as M32, appear to be the low-luminosity analogs to normal classical giant ellipticals.