Kinematics of diffuse elliptical galaxies

New observations show that most of the flattened diffuse elliptical (dE) galaxies are essentially isotropic rotators. This supports the idea that dEs have evolved from fast rotating dIrr systems or late-type spirals after their gas was expelled by SN-driven winds and stripped by ram pressure against the intergalactic medium. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.