ON THE SHAPE OF THE LIGHT PROFILES OF EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES .2. THE (D-N A(E))-[MU](E) DIAGRAM/

We present new evidence against the universality of the de Vaucouleurs r(1/4) law, considered to be the best empirical formula for fitting t he light profiles of elliptical galaxies, through the analysis of the properties of the (D-n/A(e))-[mu](e) diagram for a volume-limited samp le of early-type galaxies that are members of the Virgo and Fornax clu sters. The r(1/4) law turns out to be only a particular case of the mo re general r(1/m) law, where the exponent m is found to correlate with the effective radius of the galaxy. We compare our sample of early-ty pe galaxies with that studied by Burstein et al., and find that the ob served differences can be explained in terms of procedures and methodo logies adopted for measuring the global photometric parameters such as total luminosities, effective radii, effective surface brightnesses a nd D-n diameters.