The galactic content of groups of galaxies

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Abstract

Observational facts seem to point to the existence of a universal mechanism by which elliptical and lenticular galaxies are selected over spiral galaxies whenever they aggregate in denser structures. Elliptical galaxies may result from a gradual merging of smaller systems. If this is true, it can be expected that the fraction of spiral galaxies in dense structures depends on the collision rate of galaxies instead of the local density. In this case, there should be a correlation between the spiral fraction and the product (local galaxy density)x(velocity dispersion of galaxies). The present investigation is concerned with the possible existence of such a correlation for a group of galaxies. It is shown that the fraction of morphological types correlates well with the rate of collisions between galaxies. This fact may be explained on the basis of a crude model for the destruction process of spiral galaxies.

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