We investigate the stellar halo of the nearby elliptical Virgo-cluster galaxy M49 using Planetary Nebulae (PNe). M49 is the second-brightest galaxy of the Virgo cluster and is at the center of the Virgo subcluster B. We present an extended catalogue extracted from a narrow-band survey carried out with Subaru’s Suprime Cam, consisting of 735 PNe down to a limiting magnitude of m5007 = 29.3. This PNe population traces the halo out to 155 kpc from the galaxy’s center, which provides accurate measurement of the luminosity-specific PN-number (α-parameter) in the inner and outer regions of M49’s halo. We are also able to determine the morphological variation of the planetary nebulae luminosity function (PNLF), that may trace different parent stellar populations. This enables us to identify the transition from the PN-scarce, possibly metal-rich, galaxy halo to the PN-rich, metal-poor, outer component.

At the center of the nearest galaxy cluster, the Virgo cluster, lies the massive cD galaxy, M87 (NGC 4486). Using data from the Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey, we investigate the relationship between M87, its globular clusters (GCs), and satellite dwarf galaxies. We find that the kinematics of GCs and ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) are different, indicating that UCDs are not simply massive GCs. We also identify a morphological sequence of envelope fraction around UCDs correlated with cluster-centric distance that suggest UCDs are the result of tidal stripping. Lastly, we find that the [α/Fe] abundance ratios of low-mass early-type galaxies in Virgo exhibit a strong negative gradient within ~ 400 kpc of M87, where the galaxies closest to M87 have the highest values. These satellite galaxies are likely the surviving counterparts of accreted dwarfs that contribute stars to the metal-poor, α-rich stellar halos of massive galaxies. Together, these results describe a dense environment that has had a strong and continuing impact on the evolution of its low-mass neighbors.

We identify disk features (spiral arms, bars, or edge-on disks) in a significant fraction of Virgo cluster early-type dwarfs. These galaxies are disk-shaped and are an unrelaxed cluster population that possibly formed out of infalling progenitors. Some display spiral arms with grand design features that cannot be the mere remainders of potential late-type spiral progenitors.

A significant fraction of Virgo cluster early-type dwarf galaxies have blue central colours caused by recent or ongoing star formation. A spectral analysis shows that even in their centers, stellar mass is dominated by an old population. These galaxies are an unrelaxed cluster population that possibly formed from morphological transformation of late-type galaxies.

We present the results of optical stellar rotation curves of 16 dwarf elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. Approximately half of this sample have significant velocity gradients along their optical major axis, with typical rotation amplitudes of 20—30 km s$^{-1}$. Evidence for a relationship between the rotation amplitude and galaxy luminosity is found and agrees well with the Tully-Fisher relation. The similarity in the scaling relations of dIs and dEs implies that it is unlikely that dEs evolve from significantly more luminous galaxies. These observations reaffirm the possibility that some cluster dwarf elliptical galaxies may be formed when the neutral gaseous medium is stripped from dwarf irregular galaxies in the cluster environment.