Related papers: A fitting formula for the merger timescale of gala…
We discuss the latest results of numerical simulations following the orbital decay of massive black hole pairs in galaxy mergers. We highlight important differences between gas-poor and gas-rich hosts, and between orbital evolution taking…
To show that the bulk of the star formation and the galaxy assembly should occur simultaneously in order to reproduce at the same time the downsizing and the chemical properties of present-day massive spheroids within one effective…
We incorporate a simple scheme for the growth of supermassive black holes into semi-analytic models that follow the formation and evolution of galaxies in a cold dark matter dominated Universe. We assume that supermassive black holes are…
While the formation of stellar clumps in distant galaxies is usually attributed to gravitational violent disk instabilities, we show here that major mergers also represent a competitive mechanism to form bright clumps. Using ~0.1''…
(Abridged) The violent hierarchical nature of the LCDM cosmology poses serious difficulties for the formation of disk galaxies. To help resolve these issues, we describe a new, merger-driven scenario for the cosmological formation of disk…
Preliminary results are presented about a fully self-consistent N-body simulation of a sample of four massive globular clusters in close interaction within the central region of a galaxy. The N-body representation (with N=1.5x10^6 particles…
The luminosity dependence of kinematical and isophotal properties of elliptical galaxies is investigated using numerical simulations of galaxy merging, combined with semi-analytical models of hierarchical structure formation. Mergers of…
In the hierarchical paradigm of galaxy formation, central massive black holes (MBHs) are expected to coalesce after the merger of their host galaxies. One of the main goals of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is to constrain…
Observations of compact groups of galaxies (CGs) indicate that their abundance has not significantly changed since $z=0.2$. This balance between the timescales for formation and destruction of CGs is challenging if the typical timescale for…
We present an observational analysis of numerical simulations of galaxy cluster mergers. We identify several observational signatures of recent merger activity, and quantitatively assess the uncertainty introduced into cluster mass…
HST images of a sample of 285 galaxies with measured z from the CFRS and Autofib-LDSS redshift surveys are analysed to derive the evolution of the merger fraction out to z~1. We have performed visual and machine-based merger…
In an influential recent paper, Harvey et al (2015) derive an upper limit to the self-interaction cross section of dark matter ($\sigma_{\rm DM} < 0.47$ cm$^2$/g at 95\% confidence) by averaging the dark matter-galaxy offsets in a sample of…
We present a detailed prescription for how galaxy formation can be modelled in hierarchical theories of structure formation. Our model incorporates the formation and merging of dark matter halos, the shock heating and radiative cooling of…
During the merger of two galaxies, the resulting system undergoes violent relaxation and seeks stable equilibrium. However, the details of this evolution are not fully understood. Using Illustris simulation, we probe two physically related…
We present a full analysis of galaxy major merger pair fractions, merger rates, and mass accretion rates, thus uncovering the role of mergers in galaxy formation at the earliest previously unexplored epoch of $4.5<z<11.5$. We target…
Supermassive black hole (SMBH) coalescence in galaxy mergers is believed to be one of the primary sources of very low frequency gravitational waves (GWs). Significant contribution of the GWs comes from mergers of massive galaxies with…
Aims. In this work, we intend to examine how environment influences the merger fraction, from the low density field environment to higher density groups and clusters. We also aim to study how the properties of a group or cluster, as well as…
According to the hierarchical model, small galaxies form first and merge together to form bigger objects. In parallel, galaxies assemble their mass through accretion from cosmic filaments. Recently, the increased spatial resolution of the…
Total energy arguments (e.g., Fabian et al. 2002) suggest that black holes need to have masses significantly in excess of the prediction from the classic black hole mass - velocity dispersion relation (M-sigma) in order to offset the…
We use EAGLE to quantify the effect galaxy mergers have on the stellar specific angular momentum of galaxies, $j_{\rm stars}$. We split mergers into: dry (gas-poor)/wet (gas-rich), major/minor, and different spin alignments and orbital…