Abstract

Photometric properties of the early type Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs) has been investigated for a sample of 85 BCGs with redshifts less than 0.1 selected from the C4 cluster catalogue. The results are compared to those obtained from a sample of elliptical galaxies chosen with similar apparent magnitude and redshift ranges. We find that BCGs have steeper size‐luminosity (R∝Lα) and Faber‐Jackson (L∝σβ) relations than the bulk of early type galaxies. The differences in the scaling relations suggest that the dynamical structure and formation route of BCGs may be different from the bulk of early type galaxies, in particular dry (dissipationless) mergers may play a more important role in their formation.

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