2003/06/30 by B. Kelm, Kelm Birgit, P. Focardi +1 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Elliptical galaxy #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy group #Lenticular galaxy #Luminosity #Luminous infrared galaxy #Peculiar galaxy #Physics #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Spiral galaxy #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20040100
published as Astron.Astrophys. 418 (2004) 937-946 · 12 pages, 9 figures, A&A, accepted
arxiv created 2004/02/16 · openalex publication_date 2004/04/16 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · arxiv updated 2017/01/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The nature of Compact Groups (CGs) is investigated by comparing the luminosities and morphologies of CG galaxies, CG Neighbours and Isolated galaxies. CGs turn out to include more early type galaxies than Isolated galaxies and fewer low-luminosity galaxies. The 33 CGs with a dominant E/S0 and the 30 CGs with a dominant spiral have similar LF parameters. Spiral dominated CGs have fewer galaxies at high and low luminosity in comparison with their Neighbours, while E-S0 dominated CGs seem to lack only faint galaxies when compared to their Neighbours. Ellipticals which are the dominant galaxy of a CG are also brighter than all their Neighbours, while this holds true for only half of the dominant spirals and S0s. Relations linking the number of Neighbours of dominant E-S0s to the luminosity of E-S0s and to the difference between the first and the second ranked CG members do suggest a link between the formation of bright early-type galaxies and the presence of a group-like potential. No similar relations are found for dominant spirals. These tentative results are compatible with the assumption that CG dominant Ellipticals are anomalous galaxies whose formation might have been a secondary outcome during the process of groups formation.