Related papers: Internal Secular Evolution in Disk Galaxies: The G…
We present results concerning the internal structure and kinematics of disk galaxies formed in cosmologically motivated simulations. The calculations include dark matter, gas dynamics, radiative cooling, star formation, supernova feedback…
The evolution of substructure embedded in non-dissipative dark halos is studied through N-body simulations of isolated systems, both in and out of initial equilibrium, complementing cosmological simulations of the growth of structure. We…
In the cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm, bulges easily form through galaxy mergers, either major or minor, or through clumpy disks in the early universe, where clumps are driven to the center by dynamical friction. Also pseudo-bulges, with a…
We investigate the clustering properties and close neighbour counts for galaxies with different types of bulges and stellar masses. We select samples of "classical" and "pseudo" bulges, as well as "bulge-less" disk galaxies, based on the…
The secular evolution process which slowly transforms the morphology of a given galaxy over its lifetime through mostly internal dynamical mechanisms could naturally account for most of the observed properties of physical galaxies (Zhang…
The central regions of galaxies show the presence of massive black holes and/or dense stellar systems. The question about their modes of formation is still under debate. A likely explanation of the formation of the central dense stellar…
We present a study of the effects of mergers and interactions on the mass distribution of galactic systems in hierarchical clustering scenarios using the disc-bulge structural parameters and their dynamical properties to quantify them. We…
In this contribution, I present a simplified overview of the evolution of the disk galaxy population since z=1, and a brief discussion of a few open questions. Galaxy evolution surveys have found that the disk galaxy population forms stars…
Stellar Populations are the fossil record of Galactic evolution. Interpretation of this record in the Local Group allows one to determine reliably the dominant physics controlling the evolution of those galaxies which are typical of the…
We study the evolution of disc galaxies in group environments under the effect of both the global tidal field and close-encounters between galaxies, using controlled N-body simulations of isolated mergers. We find that close-range…
The {\Lambda} cold dark matter ({\Lambda}CDM) paradigm of galaxy formation predicts that dense spheroidal stellar structures invariably grow at early cosmic time. These primordial spheroids evolve toward a virialized dynamical status as…
We follow the evolution of disk galaxies within a cluster that forms hierarchically in a standard cold dark matter N-body simulation. At a redshift z=0.5 we select several dark matter halos that have quiet merger histories and are about to…
The deep connection between galaxies and their supermassive black holes is central to modern astrophysics and cosmology. The observed correlation between galaxy and black hole mass is usually attributed to the contribution of major mergers…
Despite having entered the era of "precision cosmology," the formation of galaxies within the favored CDM cosmological paradigm remains problematic. By relating our N-body/smooth particle hydro-dynamical simulation to an extensive range of…
We study the dynamical evolution of a stellar disk orbiting a massive black hole. We explore the role of two-body relaxation, mass segregation, stellar evolution and binary heating in affecting the disk evolution, and consider the impact of…
Galactic disk formation requires knowledge about the initial conditions under which disk galaxies form, the boundary conditions that affect their secular evolution and the micro-physical processes that drive the multi-phase interstellar…
The formation of galaxies and their various components can be stringent tests of dark matter models and of gravity theories. In the standard cold dark matter (CDM) model, spheroids are formed through mergers in a strongly hierarchical…
This paper addresses the questions of what we have learned about how and when dense star clusters form, and what studies of star clusters have revealed about galaxy formation and evolution. One important observation is that globular…
We determine central values and radial trends in the stellar populations of the bulges of a sample of 28 edge-on S0-Sb disk galaxies, 22 of which are boxy/peanut-shaped (and therefore barred). Our principal findings are the following. (1)…
Our current understanding of the stellar initial mass function and massive star evolution suggests that young globular clusters may have formed hundreds to thousands of stellar-mass black holes, the remnants of stars with initial masses…