The early-type dwarf galaxy population of the Fornax cluster

AIMS: We analyse the photometric properties of the early-type Fornax cluster dwarf galaxy population, based on a wide field imaging study of the central cluster area in V and I. We used the instrument/telescope combination IMACS/Magellan at Las Campanas Observatory, providing much larger light collecting area and better image resolution than previous surveys. METHODS: We create a fiducial sample of Fornax cluster dwarf ellipticals (dEs) in the following three steps: (1) To verify cluster membership, we measured I-band surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) distances to candidate dEs; (2) We re-assessed morphological classifications for candidate dEs too faint for SBF detection; and (3) We searched for new candidate dEs in the size-luminosity regime close to the resolution limit of previous surveys. RESULTS: (1) We confirm cluster membership for 28 candidate dEs in the range -16.6
Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. Uses special aa.cls