LF's for Different Types

Luminosity functions for the Field and Virgo, broken down by Hubble Type. The Elliptical and Spiral LFs approximate Gaussians, while the dIrrs and dEs keep rising to low luminosities, with approximate Schechter form. These forms are relatively similar for the Cluster and Field samples, but their relative proportions is different, leading to a somewhat different LF for the integrated samples. Figure from Bingelli, Sandage, and Tammann 1988 ARAA 26 509 [o-link]