Related papers: The Dirt on Dry Mergers
We measure the fraction of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) in dynamically close pairs (with projected separation less than 20 $h^{-1}$ kpc and velocity difference less than 500 km s$^{-1}$) to estimate the dry merger rate for galaxies with…
We evaluate the dry merger activity in the Coma cluster, using a spectroscopically complete sample of 70 red-sequence (RS) galaxies, most of which (~75%) are located within 0.2R200 (~0.5 Mpc) from the cluster center, with data from the Coma…
We present the first attempt at measuring the production rate of tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) and estimating their contribution to the overall dwarf population. Using HST/ACS deep imaging data from GOODS and GEMS surveys in conjunction with…
We present the results of a morphological study based on NIR images of 25 galaxies, with different levels of nuclear activity, in 8 Compact Groups of Galaxies (CGs). We perform independently two different analysis: a isophotal study and a…
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 visual classifications of merger-induced tidal disturbances in 143 $\rm{M}_* \sim 10^{11}\rm{M}_\odot$ post-starburst galaxies at z$\sim$0.7 identified in the SQuIGG$\vec{L}$E Sample. This sample spectroscopically selects…
We use a set of high-resolution N-body simulations of binary galaxy mergers to show that the morphologies of the tidal features that are seen around a large fraction of nearby, massive ellipticals in the field, cannot be reproduced by…
The characteristic size of early-type galaxies (ETGs) of given stellar mass is observed to increase significantly with cosmic time, from redshift z>2 to the present. A popular explanation for this size evolution is that ETGs grow through…
We study galaxy pair samples selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR7) and we perform an analysis of minor and major mergers with the aim of investigating the dependence of galaxy properties on interactions. We build a galaxy…
We present a statistical observational study of the tidal dwarf (TD) population in the nearby Universe, by exploiting a large, homogeneous catalogue of galaxy mergers compiled from the SDSS. 95% of TD-producing mergers involve two spiral…
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…
Using deep infrared observations conducted with the MOIRCS on the Subaru Telescope in GOODS-N combined with public surveys in GOODS-S, we investigate the dependence on stellar mass, M_*, and galaxy type of the close pair fraction (5 kpc < r…
We analyze 1298 merging galaxies with redshifts up to z=0.7 from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, taken from the catalog presented in Bridge et al. (2010). By analyzing the internal colors of these systems, we show that…
We present results from a pilot HST ACS deep imaging study in broad-band V of five low-redshift QSO host galaxies classified in the literature as ellipticals. The aim of our study is to determine whether these early-type hosts formed at…
We report high quality near-infrared spectroscopy of 12 ultra-luminous infrared galaxy mergers (ULIRGs). Our new VLT and Keck data provide ~0.5" resolution, stellar and gas kinematics of these galaxies most of which are compact systems in…
By combining the 0.12 square degree F814W Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Spitzer MIPS 24 micron imaging in the First Look Survey (FLS), we investigate the properties of interacting and merging Mid-Infrared bright and faint sources at 0.2<…
We provide observational evidence that galaxy mergers significantly affect stellar kinematics of early-type galaxies (ETGs) such as specific stellar angular momentum within the half-light radius ($\lambda_{R_e}$) and kinematic misalignment…
We present a deep broadband optical imaging study of a complete sample of luminous elliptical galaxies (M_B<-20) at distances 15 Mpc - 50 Mpc, selected from the Tully catalog of nearby galaxies. The images are flat to ~0.35% across the 20'…
We present Spitzer mid-infrared images from a survey of three dozen pre-merger strongly interacting galaxy pairs selected from the Arp Atlas. The global mid-infrared colors of these galaxies and their tidal tails and bridges are similar to…
We investigate the effect of gas-poor (so-called "dry") mergers on the color-magnitude relation (CMR) of early-type galaxies through a simple toy model and compare with low-z observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The…