Authors: Alister Graham, Tod Lauer, Matthew Colless & Marc Postman
Abstract: We model the surface brightness profiles of a sample of 119 Abell Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCG), finding a generalised deVaucouleurs R{1/n} law, where `n' is a free parameter, to be appropriate. Departures from the R{1/4} law are shown to be a real feature of galaxy profiles, not due to observational errors or coupling of `n' with the other model parameters. BCG typically have values of `n' greater than 4. The shape parameter `n' is shown to correlate with effective half-light radius, such that the larger BCG have larger values of `n'. This continues a trend noticed amongst ordinary elliptical galaxies and dwarf ellipticals, such that the brighter galaxies have larger values of `n'.