Systematic Variation of Central Mass Density Slope in Early-Type Galaxies

Abstract

We study the total density distribution in the central regions (≲ 1 effective radius, R <SUB>e</SUB>) of early-type galaxies (ETGs), using data from the SPIDER survey (La Barbera et al., MNRAS 408:1313, 2010). We model each galaxy with two components (dark matter halo + stars), exploring different assumptions for the dark matter (DM) halo profile, and leaving stellar mass-to-light (M <SUB>⋆</SUB>/L) ratios as free fitting parameters to the data. For a Navarro et al. (ApJ 462:563, 1996) profile, the slope of the total mass profile is non-universal. For the most massive and largest ETGs, the profile is isothermal in the central regions (∼ R<SUB>e</SUB>/2), while for the low-mass and smallest systems, the profile is steeper than isothermal, with slopes similar to those for a constant-M/L profile. For a concentration-mass relation steeper than that expected from simulations, the correlation of density slope with mass tends to flatten. Our results clearly point to a "non-homology" in the total mass distribution of ETGs, which simulations of galaxy formation suggest may be related to a varying role of dissipation with galaxy mass.