  A number of previous studies have searched for a correlation between radial
metallicity gradients and early-type galaxy mass -- no convincing trends have
been found. Here we re-examine this issue with several key enhancements: using
total metallicity from studies that have broken the age-metallicity degeneracy,
excluding galaxies with young stellar ages (i.e. tho se that have experienced a
recent central starburst) and using the K-band to derive galaxy luminosities.
We find that Coma cluster galaxies have metallicity gradients which correlate
with galaxy mass. Furthermore, gradients have values similar to those of
monolithic collapse models. The combination of dissipative formation and energy
injection from supernova provides a mechanism for the trends with galaxy mass,
however other explanations are possible. Additional high quality observational
data is needed to further constrain the gas physics involved in galaxy
formation.
