The identification of physical close galaxy pairs
Astrophysics
2008-11-26 v2
Abstract
A classification scheme for close pairs of galaxies is proposed. The scheme is motivated by the fact that the majority of apparent close pairs are in fact wide pairs in three-dimensional space. This is demonstrated by means of numerical simulations of random samples of binary galaxies and the scrutiny of the resulting projected and spatial separation distributions. Observational strategies for classifying close pairs according to the scheme are suggested. As a result, physical (i.e., bound and spatially) close pairs are identified.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0703552,
title = {The identification of physical close galaxy pairs},
author = {D. S. L. Soares},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0703552},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, added text corrections on proofs