Related papers: Evidence for Merger Remnants in Early-Type Host Ga…
We present initial results from a Hubble Space Telescope snapshot imaging survey of the host galaxies of Swift-BAT active galactic nuclei (AGN) at z<0.1. The hard X-ray selection makes this sample sample relatively unbiased in terms of…
According to a popular scenario supported by numerical models, the mass assembly and growth of massive galaxies, in particular the Early-Type Galaxies (ETGs), is, below a redshift of 1, mainly due to the accretion of multiple gas--poor…
Several recent observations suggest that gas-poor (dissipationless) mergers of elliptical galaxies contribute significantly to the build-up of the massive end of the red sequence. We perform a series of major merger simulations to…
Mergers between red galaxies are observed to be common in the nearby Universe, and are thought to be the dominant mechanism by which massive galaxies grow their mass at late times. These ``dry'' mergers can be readily identified in very…
We study the simulated CO emission from elliptical galaxies formed in the mergers of gas-rich disk galaxies. The cold gas not consumed in the merger-driven starburst quickly resettles into a disk-like configuration. By analyzing a variety…
We present rest-frame $B$ and $I$ imaging of 35 low-redshift ($z < 0.5$) Palomar-Green quasars using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. We perform multi-component two-dimensional image decomposition to separate the host galaxy…
We investigate the triggering mechanism and the structural properties of obscured luminous active galactic nuclei from a detailed study of the rest-frame $B$ and $I$ HST images of 29 nearby ($z\approx 0.04-0.4$) optically selected type 2…
To test whether the short GRB rates, redshift distribution and host galaxies are consistent with current theoretical predictions, we use avery large database of population synthesis calculations to examine BH-NS and NS-NS merger rates in…
We present the results of a comparison between the optical morphologies of a complete sample of 46 southern 2Jy radio galaxies at intermediate redshifts (0.05<z<0.7) and those of two control samples of quiescent early-type galaxies: 55…
We have investigated the properties of a volume and magnitude limited sample of nearby early type galaxies that were carefully selected from the AAO two degree field galaxy redshift survey. We used images from the DSS to confirm the E/S0…
We present collisionless simulations of dry mergers in groups of three to twenty-five galaxies to test the hypothesis that elliptical galaxies form at the centers of such groups. Mock observations of the central remnants confirm their…
We present preliminary results of an HST/NICMOS program to image merger remnants in the J, H and K bands. The nuclear brightness profiles for most sample galaxies are similar to those typical for elliptical galaxies, but some (including the…
Mergers of gas-poor galaxies, so-called dry mergers, may play a fundamental role in the assembly of the most massive galaxies, and therefore, in galaxy formation theories. Using the SDSS, we have serendipitously discovered a rare system in…
There is growing evidence that every galaxy with a considerable spheroidal component hosts a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at its center. Strong correlations between the SMBH and the spheroidal component suggest a physical connection…
We have obtained optical imaging with the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) of 21 2MASS-selected QSOs of redshift greater than 0.3. This paper complements the sample of lower redshift 2MASS QSOs previously published. The QSOs have…
A clear insight of the galaxies hosting active galactic nuclei is of fundamental importance for understanding the processes of galaxies and nuclei formation and their cosmic evolution. A good characterization of the host galaxies properties…
We present HST WFPC2 V band imaging for 23 Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies taken from the QDOT redshift survey. The fraction of sources observed to be interacting is 87%. Most of the merging systems show a number of compact `knots', whose…
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…
This paper explores the mapping between the observable properties of a stellar halo in phase- and abundance-space and the parent galaxy's accretion history in terms of the characteristic epoch of accretion and mass and orbits of progenitor…
Context. Sheen and collaborators recently found that a surprisingly large portion (38%) of massive early-type galaxies in heavy clusters show strong merger-related disturbed features. This contradicts the general understanding that massive…