How common are 'dust-lanes' in early-type galaxies?

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Abstract
Despite much recent interest in the properties of elliptical galaxies with dust lanes, no attempt has yet been made to determine the incidence of such galaxies among the elliptical population as a whole. Using a complete sample of early-type galaxies, and accounting as far as possible for selection effects, the true fraction of galaxies with dust is estimated to be ∼40 per cent for nearby ellipticals and somewhat higher than this for S0s. On the basis of their observed axial ratios and absolute magnitudes, ‘discless galaxies with dust’ constitute a class of true elliptical galaxies quite distinct from S02/3 dust-lane galaxies. Dust absorption in elliptical galaxies may mimic isophotal twisting in some cases (e.g., IC3370). This can be distinguished from true twisting by two-color surface photometry. Shells are found around ∼25 per cent of elliptical galaxies in the sample studied, but there is no strong correlation between the presence of shells and dust. This is intriguing since both features are often taken as signs of past interactions with the environment.

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