2009/09/17 by F. La Barbera, R. R. de Carvalho, La Barbera, F. +10
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph.CO
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0909.3159
4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the ASP Conference Series Proceedings of "Galaxies in Isolation: Exloring Nature vs. Nurture", Granada, 2009
arxiv created 2009/09/17 · openalex publication_date 2009/09/17 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present a new sample of 25 fossil groups (FGs) at z < 0.1, along with a control sample of seventeen bright ellipticals located in non-fossil systems. Both the global properties of FGs (e.g. X-ray luminosity) as well as the photometric properties (i.e. isophotal shape parameter, a4) and spectroscopic parameters (e.g. the alpha-enhancement) of their first-ranked ellipticals are consistent with those of the control sample. This result favors a scenario where FGs are not a distinct class of systems, but rather a common phase in the life of galaxy groups. We also find no evidence for an evolutionary sequence explaining the formation of galaxies in fossil systems through the merging of galaxies in compact groups.