Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 November 2005
What is the origin of the numerous population of diffuse elliptical galaxies (dE)? These galaxies formed their stars several billion years ago and lost their gas. Though the stellar winds resulting from star formation and the interactions with the environment undoubtedly play a role, their respective role and details of this evolution are still debated.
In this presentation we will review the first 3D spectroscopic observations of a handful of dE galaxies. These data reveal complex kinematical structures, with embedded discs and counter rotating cores, and they open extremely promising perspectives for studying the history of the stellar population throughout these various features.
The presence of disks, which was already known from detailed image analysis, their complex kinematics, and the new constraints on the stellar population enforce the hypothesis of the evolutionary connection between dEs and disk galaxies.
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