Comparison With Giant Ellipticals
Dwarf elliptical galaxies have blue absolute magnitudes within the range -18 mag < M < -14 mag, fainter than giant elliptical galaxies. While the surface brightness profiles of giant elliptical galaxies are well described by de Vaucouleur's law, dEs have exponentially declining surface brightness profiles. However, both types can be well fit by the same more general law, Sersic's law, and there is a continuity of Sersic index as a function of luminosity, suggesting that dwarf and giant elliptical galaxies belong to a single sequence. Still fainter elliptical-like galaxies, called dwarf spheroidal galaxies, appear to be genuinely distinct.
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