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Theoretical considerations and observational data support the idea that mergers were more frequent in the past. At high redshifts, violent interactions and mergers may be implicated in the origin of Lyman-break galaxies, sub-mm starbursts,…
We performe N-body simulations of encounters between spherical systems surrounded by a spherical halo. Following a preceding paper with a similar aim, the initial systems include a spherical Jaffe model for the luminous matter and a…
We combine optical morphologies and photometry from HST, redshifts from Keck, and mid-infrared luminosities from Spitzer for an optically selected sample of~800 galaxies in GOODS-N to track morphology evolution of infrared luminous galaxies…
It has been suggested that merging plays an important role in the formation and the evolution of elliptical galaxies(EGs). In order to understand the past merging history of EGs, we studied the optical-NIR color gradients of 204 EGs. The…
We present results of a study of the stellar age distributions in the sample of elliptical-like objects (ELOs) identified at z=0 in four simulations operating in the context of a concordance cosmological model. The simulations show that the…
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''…
Central cluster galaxies in cooling flows show the signatures of gaseous accretion and ongoing star formation at rates ranging between 1-100 solar masses per year. Their blue morphologies usually reflect the low net angular momentum content…
We present a study of the dynamical evolution of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs), merging galaxies of infrared luminosity >10^12 L_sun. During our Very Large Telescope large program, we have obtained ISAAC near-infrared,…
Observational constraints and theoretical arguments indicate that cooled interstellar gas in bright elliptical galaxies forms into a young stellar population throughout the region within the half-light radius. The young population has a…
We study the role of major and minor mergers in the mass growth of luminous red galaxies. We present small-scale ($0.01<r<8\,\hMpc$) projected cross-correlation functions of $23043$ luminous early-type galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky…
We present a key result from our optical integral field spectroscopic survey of 27 nearby ultra luminous and luminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs) from the Great Observatory All-sky LIRG Survey. Using spatially resolved multi-component…
Many close stellar binaries are accompanied by a far-away star. The "eccentric Kozai-Lidov" (EKL) mechanism can cause dramatic inclination and eccentricity fluctuations, resulting in tidal tightening of inner binaries of triple stars. We…
We present an analysis of the morphological classification of 89 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) from the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) sample using non-parametric coefficients and compare their morphology as a function…
Within the context of the standard structure formation scenario, massive present day elliptical galaxies are sometimes thought of as the result of a major merger of spiral systems. Through extensive SPH simulations of merging spirals, we…
We show that the star-forming regions in high-redshift luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs and ULIRGs) and submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) have similar physical scales to those in local normal star-forming galaxies. To first…
Star-forming blue early-type galaxies at low redshift can give insight to the stellar mass growth of L$*$ elliptical galaxies in the local Universe. We wish to understand the reason for star formation in these otherwise passively evolving…
Galaxy evolution scenarios predict that the feedback of star formation and nuclear activity (AGN) can drive the transformation of gas-rich spiral mergers into ULIRGs, and, eventually, lead to the build-up of QSO/elliptical hosts. We study…
The kinematical properties of elliptical galaxies formed during the mergers of equal mass, stars+gas+dark matter spiral galaxies are compared to the observed low velocity dispersions found for planetary nebulae on the outskirts of…
We report mid-infrared observations of several luminous infrared galaxies (LIGs) carried out with the Infrared Space Observatory. Our sample was chosen to represent different phases of a merger sequence of galaxy-galaxy interaction with…
Mid-infrared molecular hydrogen (H$_2$) emission is a powerful cooling agent in galaxy mergers and in radio galaxies; it is a potential key tracer of gas evolution and energy dissipation associated with mergers, star formation, and…