Luminosity segregation versus fractal scaling in the galaxy distribution

Abstract

In this letter I present results from a correlation analysis of three galaxy redshift catalogs: the SSRS2, the CfA2 and the PSCz. I will focus on the observation that the amplitude of the two--point correlation function rises if the depth of the sample is increased. There are two competing explanations for this observation, one in terms of a fractal scaling, the other based on luminosity segregation. I will show that there is strong evidence that the observed growth is due to a luminosity dependent clustering of the galaxies.