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M.J. Pierce, R.C. Berrington, S. Hwang (University of Wyoming)
We present spectroscopic data from an extensive survey of early type galaxies within nearby Abell clusters. The survey includes clusters with richness class R \geq 1, and redshift z < 0.05. The spectra of ~2500 galaxies were acquired by the multi-fiber spectrograph (Hydra) on the WIYN 3.5m telescope at a dispersion of 0.48 Å/pixel. Typical signal-to-noise ratios range from ~100/pixel for the brighter galaxies to ~30/pixel for the fainter galaxies. This enables us to measure reliable velocity dispersions for galaxies with log(\sigma) \geq 1.8. We describe the sample, the data quality and present measurements of several spectral indices. We discuss possible cluster-to-cluster variations and observational correlations of these line indices. We also present photometric data for a subset of template clusters. We find complex structure within the fundamental plane (FP) of elliptical galaxies and discuss possible scenarios for its origin.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: mpierce@uwyo.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.