Natural SciencesAstronomyPhysicsAstrophysicsExtragalactic AstronomyGravitationGalactic KinematicsGalactic StructureGalaxy FormationGalaxy MorphologyStructure FormationGalaxy MergersMerger Signatures
A significant fraction of luminous ellipticals have been found to contain core components which are kinematically decoupled from their main bodies. This observation has been interpreted as a signature of violent merging processes in the formation of these galaxies. Here it is shown that the decoupling between central and outer parts of 4 presumed merger ellipticals also applies to their Mg 2 profiles : in two of the four galaxies the Mg 2 profile shows a significant change of slope at the same radius at which the peculiar core kinematics starts to become dominant