  We examine two extreme models for the build-up of the stellar component of
luminous elliptical galaxies. In one case, we assume the build-up of stars is
dissipational, with centrally accreted gas radiating away its orbital and
thermal energy; the dark matter halo will undergo adiabatic contraction and the
central dark matter density profile will steepen. For the second model, we
assume the central galaxy is assembled by a series of dissipationless mergers
of stellar clumps that have formed far from the nascent galaxy. In order to be
accreted, these clumps lose their orbital energy to the dark matter halo via
dynamical friction, thereby heating the central dark matter and smoothing the
dark matter density cusp. The central dark matter density profiles differ
drastically between these models. For the isolated elliptical galaxy, NGC 4494,
the central dark matter densities follow the power-laws r^(-0.2) and r^(-1.7)
for the dissipational and dissipationless models, respectively. By matching the
dissipational and dissipationless models to observations of the stellar
component of elliptical galaxies, we examine the relative contributions of
dissipational and dissipationless mergers to the formation of elliptical
galaxies and look for observational tests that will distinguish between these
models. Comparisons to strong lensing brightest cluster galaxies yield median
M*/L_B ratios of 2.1+/-0.8 and 5.2+/-1.7 at z=0.39 for the dissipational and
dissipationless models, respectively. For NGC 4494, the best-fit dissipational
and dissipationless models have M*/L_B=2.97 and 3.96. Comparisons to expected
stellar mass-to-light ratios from passive evolution and population syntheses
appear to rule out a purely dissipational formation mechanism for the central
stellar regions of giant elliptical galaxies.
