The core of the problem: Physical limits of the core–Sérsic model

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Universiteit Gent, Proeftuinstraat 86 N3, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium

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Received: 29 November 2025
Accepted: 5 April 2026

Abstract

The core–Sérsic model is the standard tool for describing partially depleted stellar cores in massive early-type galaxies, yet its physical admissibility has rarely been examined. Using numerical deprojections, we show that many formally allowed parameter combinations cannot represent realistic stellar systems: sharp transitions between the inner power-law core and the outer Sérsic profile (large α) always generate non-monotonic intrinsic density profiles. We identify, for each set of structural parameters (γ, m, R_e/R_b), a critical transition parameter, α_crit, above which monotonicity is violated. This threshold systematically depends on the core slope and Sérsic index, implying that a fraction of the commonly used parameter space, including the widely adopted sharp-transition limit α → ∞, is physically ruled out. These constraints have important consequences for measuring core sizes and mass deficits in massive ellipticals, for constructing dynamical models, and for comparing observations with simulations of supermassive black hole binary evolution.