= Core and power-law elliptical galaxies
Bright <elliptical galaxies> commonly have a shallow central surface-brightness cusp inside a break radius, whereas many less luminous <elliptical galaxies> have a steep cusp continuing inward. The latter can have many more luminous tracers at a fixed small radius, helping central <black hole> dynamical measurements. This empirical distinction is not a universal classification by mass alone. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9610055[Measurements of central galaxy profiles] quantify the contrast.
Back to article page