Bibcode
DOI
de la Rosa, I. G.; de Carvalho, Reinaldo R.; Zepf, Stephen E.
Bibliographical reference
The Astronomical Journal, Volume 122, Issue 1, pp. 93-102.
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7
2001
Citations
36
Refereed citations
31
Description
We present a study focusing on the nature of compact groups through the
study of their elliptical galaxies. We determine velocity dispersions
(σ) for 18 bright elliptical galaxies located in the core of
Hickson compact groups and a control sample of 12 bright bona fide
elliptical galaxies located in the field or very loose groups. Several
tests are carried out to avoid sources of systematic effects in σ
measurements. We use these velocity dispersions to compare the positions
of 11 compact group galaxies in the fundamental plane with those of a
large and homogeneous sample of elliptical galaxies. We find that little
or no significant difference exists, as far as the fundamental plane is
concerned, between elliptical galaxies in compact groups and their
counterparts in other environments.