1.65 mu m (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies - V. Profile decomposition of 1157 galaxies

We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 mum) surface brightness profile decom position for 1157 galaxies in five nearby clusters of galaxies: Coma, A1367 , Virgo, A262 and Cancer, and in the bridge between Coma and A1367 in the " Great Wall". The optically selected (m(pg) less than or equal to 16.0) samp le is representative of all Hubble types, from E to Irr+BCD, except dE and of significantly different environments, spanning from isolated regions to rich clusters of galaxies. We model the surface brightness profiles with a de Vaucouleurs r(1/4) law (dV), with an exponential disk law (E), or with a combination of the two (B+D). From the fitted quantities we derive the H b and effective surface brightness (mu (e)) and radius (r(e)) of each compone nt, the asymptotic magnitude H-T and the light concentration index C-31 We find that: i) Less than 50% of the Elliptical galaxies have pure dV profile s. The majority of E to Sb galaxies is best represented by a B+D profile. A ll Scd to BCD galaxies have pure exponential profiles. ii) The type of deco mposition is a strong function of the total H band luminosity (mass), indep endent of the Hubble classification: the fraction of pure exponential decom positions decreases with increasing luminosity, that of B+D increases with luminosity. Pure dV profiles are absent in the low luminosity range L-H < 1 0(10) L. and become dominant above 10(11) L..