LUMINOSITY PROFILES OF dE AND dS0 GALAXIES IN THE VIRGO CLUSTER

LUMINOSITY PROFILES OF dE AND dS0 GALAXIES IN THE VIRGO CLUSTER

We investigated the structural parameters of a sample of 30 dwarf galaxies(15 dEs and 15 dS0s) in the Virgo Cluster using i-band images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4. Among 28 galaxies for which surface brightness profiles were derived from ellipse fittings, 23 galaxies had a single component that was adequately described by a generalized $S\acute{e}rsic$ function with a shape parameter ranging from n=0.5 to 2, while 5 galaxies(2 dEs and 3 dS0s) had bulge and disk components that were fitted by a generalized $S\acute{e}rsic$ function and an exponential function, respectively. Since the majority of dwarf galaxies in the present sample had a single component, it seems likely that genuine dS0 galaxies that have disk and bulge components are quite rare in the Virgo Cluster. The similarity in structural parameters of genuine dS0 galaxies in the Virgo Cluster with those of Magellanic-type galaxies implies that the progenitors of dwarf lenticular galaxies in the Virgo Cluster were most likely Magellanic-type galaxies if dS0s are harassed late-type spirals.