An Unbiased Sample of Local Elliptical Galaxies

Examination of the coverage of elliptical galaxies in the XMM and Chandraarchives reveals a bias toward the brightest nearby galaxies, and particularlyto the dominant ellipticals of groups and clusters, rendering accuratestatistical studies of galaxy properties impossible. To correct this problem, wepropose short observations of 22 nondominant ellipticals with log LB greaterthan 10 solar, Distance less than 30 Mpc, and |b| greater than 10 degrees.Combined with 25 galaxies from the archive, these exposures will form acomplete, representative and unbiased sample of nondominant ellipticals. Thiscan then be used to determine the true range of gas content and properties inelliptical galaxies, shedding light on halo formation and evolution. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]