Galaxy clustering as a function of surface brightness

Using diameters and magnitudes of galaxies listed in the Nilson catalog, the angular correlation properties of highand low-surface brightness galaxies are examined. The low-surface brightness galaxies are less tightly clumped than the higher surface brightness galaxies; they also fill in some conspicuous holes in the distribution of the high-surface brightness galaxies. The angular correlations are weaker and shallower for the low-surface brightness galaxies; when account is taken for the differing redshift distribution of the subsets, it is found that the spatial clustering length scale is a factor of two smaller than for the high-surface brightness galaxies. This finding demonstrates that galaxy formation must have been dependent on the large-scale clustering environment and suggests that the luminous galaxy distribution may not be a fair tracer of the mass distribution on any scale. Although the effect is apparent from the sky-projected angular correlations, the relative amplitudes of the spatial clustering must be regarded as preliminary because they are derived from an incomplete and possibly biased redshift sample