Photometric Observations of Southern Abell Clusters Redshifts Survey Clusters: Galaxy Luminosity Profiles

Abstract

We have analyzed CCD images of 14 Abell clusters in the R filter of the Southern Abell Clusters Redshifts Survey (SARS) with cz < 40,000 km s-1. We have obtained the luminosity profiles for 507 galaxies, of which 232 (46%) have known redshifts. In order to fit the luminosity profiles, we used the de Vaucouleurs law for bulge systems and an exponential profile for disk systems, and we also fitted the Sersic's law (rn) to all galaxy profiles. We have found that 162 galaxies (32%) in the sample have pure r1/4 profiles, 168 (33%) have pure exponential profiles, and 93 (18%) have luminosity profiles that are well fitted by a combination of bulge and disk profiles. On the other hand, we could not fit the classical bulge + disk profile to the remaining 84 galaxies (17%) of the sample. For such cases we have used only the Sersic law. We have also analyzed how seeing and sky cleaning affect the structural and photometric parameters obtained through profile fitting. In addition, we have studied several relations between these parameters. We have found that bulges and disks show consistency with a unique relation in the μe– log re plane. We also found that bulges and disks obey a magnitude-size relation in the sense that large bulges and disks (large re values) have high luminosities. On the other hand, Sersic-law fitting parameters n, rs, and μs show a strong correlation, in agreement with the findings of other authors, suggesting that not only elliptical galaxies but all galaxies are likely to be understood as a one-parameter family.