Related papers: Creating lenticular galaxies with major mergers
Massive galaxies with a half-mass radius <~ 1kpc are observed in the early universe (z~>2), but not in the local universe. In the local universe similar-mass (within a factor of two) galaxies tend to be a factor of 4 to 5 larger. Dry minor…
Based on the colour measurements from a multi-band, multi-component 2D decomposition's of S0 and spiral galaxies using SDSS images, we found that bars are bluer in S0 galaxies compared to the spiral galaxies. Most of the S0s in our sample…
In a recent series of papers, supermassive black holes were used to discern pathways in galaxy evolution. By considering the black holes' coupling with their host galaxy's bulge/spheroid, the progression of mass within each component has…
Massive galaxies, such as nearby ellipticals, have relatively low number densities, yet they host the majority of the stellar mass in the universe. Understanding their origin is a central problem of galaxy formation. Age dating of stellar…
Merging galaxies play a key role in galaxy evolution, and progress in our understanding of galaxy evolution is slowed by the difficulty of making accurate galaxy merger identifications. We use GADGET-3 hydrodynamical simulations of merging…
A Monte Carlo simulation of mergers in clusters of galaxies is carried out. An ``explosive'' character of the merging process (an analog of phase transition), suggested earlier by Cavaliere et al. (1991), Kontorovich et al. (1992), is…
Stellar haloes form through the disruption of satellite galaxies over time, making them a promising observable for constraining galaxy merger histories. We use a dynamical decomposition technique to isolate the stellar haloes of Milky…
We present the results of a series of empirical computations regarding the role of major mergers in forming the stellar masses of modern galaxies based on measurements of galaxy merger and star formation histories from z~0.5-3. We…
VLT spectra of 14 luminous compact galaxies (LCGs) reveal strong metallic absorption line sytems as well as narrow and intense emission lines. Their gas extinction is found to be large (Av ~ 1.5 mag) leading to an upward revision of their…
We study the formation of disk-dominated galaxies in a Lambda CDM universe. Their existence is considered to be a challenge for the Lambda CDM cosmology, because galaxy mergers isotropize stellar disks and trigger angular momentum transport…
Recent observations have revealed that the time evolution of the S0 number fraction at intermediate and high redshifts (0.2<z<0.8) is more dramatic in groups of galaxies than in clusters. In order to understand the origin of S0s in groups,…
Stellar mergers are responsible for a large variety of astrophysical phenomena. They form blue straggler stars, give rise to spectacular transients, and produce some of the most massive stars in the Universe. Here, we focus on mergers from…
We present a pedagogical review on the formation and evolution of galaxies in groups, utilizing observational information from the Local Group to galaxies at z~6. The majority of galaxies in the nearby universe are found in groups, and…
[Abridged] Typical disc galaxies forming in a LambdaCDM cosmology encounter a violent environment, where they often experience mergers with massive satellites. The fact that disc galaxies are ubiquitous in the local Universe suggests that a…
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…
The origin of metal-rich, highly flattened, and rapidly rotating disk globular cluster system in the Galaxy is one of longstanding issues in the context of the Galaxy formation. Our numerical simulations suggest a new ``two-fold'' scenario…
The optical morphology of galaxies is strongly related to galactic environment, with the fraction of early-type galaxies increasing with local galaxy density. In this work we present the first analysis of the galaxy morphology-density…
Building galaxy merger trees from a state-of-the-art cosmological hydrodynamics simulation, Horizon-AGN, we perform a statistical study of how mergers and smooth accretion drive galaxy morphologic properties above $z > 1$. More…
The stellar populations in the bulges of S0s, together with the galaxies' dynamics, masses and globular clusters, contain very interesting clues about their formation. I present here recent evidence suggesting that S0s are the descendants…
We present a high-resolution simulation of globular cluster formation in a galaxy merger. For the first time in such a simulation, individual star clusters are directly identified and followed on their orbits. We quantitatively compare star…