I have been trying to find literature sources on the posted question in the title. The only source I found is from a 1991 review by William Harris which is provided here. In the review, the author says the distribution of GCS in spirals is generally spherical but the distributions generally agree with the isophotes of the light-field in giant ellipticals. Given how old the source is, I am wondering if this still generally holds true. If there are any newer sources, it would be great if someone can provide a pointer. Thanks!
