Related papers: High-redshift major mergers weakly enhance star fo…
Both observations and simulations show that major tidal interactions or mergers between gas-rich galaxies can lead to intense bursts of starformation. Yet, the average enhancement in star formation rate (SFR) in major mergers and the…
Understanding the details of how the red sequence is built is a key question in galaxy evolution. What are the relative roles of gas-rich vs. dry mergers, major vs. minor mergers or galaxy mergers vs. gas accretion? In Wild et al. 2009 we…
The effects of late gas accretion episodes and subsequent merger-induced starbursts on the photo-chemical evolution of elliptical galaxies are studied and compared to the picture of galaxy formation occurring at high redshift with an unique…
Using cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, we investigate the effects of hierarchical aggregation on the triggering of star formation in galactic-like objects. We include a simple star formation model to transform the cold gas in dense…
We study the shape and evolution of the star formation main sequence in three independently developed semi-analytic models of galaxy formation. We focus, in particular, on the characterization of the model galaxies that are significantly…
The star formation rate history of galactic objects in hydrodynamical cosmological simulations are analyzed in relation to their merger histories. The findings suggest that massive mergers produce more efficient starbursts and that,…
We employ numerical simulations of galaxy mergers to explore the effect of galaxy mass ratio on merger--driven starbursts. Our numerical simulations include radiative cooling of gas, star formation, and stellar feedback to follow the…
Herschel has opened new windows into studying the evolution of rapidly star-forming galaxies out to high redshifts. Today's massive starbursts are characterized by star formation rates (SFRs) of 100+ Mo/yr and display a chaotic morphology…
We combine star formation along the `main sequence', quiescence, and clustering and merging to produce an empirical model for the evolution of individual galaxies. Main sequence star formation alone would significantly steepen the stellar…
The evolution of galaxy merger rates and its impact on galaxy properties have been studied intensively over the last decade. It becomes clear now that various types of mergers, i.e. gas-rich (wet), gas-poor (dry), or mixed mergers, affect…
In this review we discuss the evidence for galaxy interactions and mergers in the distant universe and the role of mergers in forming galaxies. Observations show that the fraction of massive (M> M_*) galaxies involved in major mergers is…
In order to explain disk galaxy formation within the hierarchical structure formation, it seems that gas rich mergers must play an important role. We review here our previous studies which have shown the importance of mergers at high…
To address the problem concerning the early formation of stars in massive galaxies, we present the results of a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation which includes a physical description of starbursts triggered by galaxy interactions.…
An increasing amount of observational evidence supports the notion that there are two modes of star formation: a quiescent mode in disk-like galaxies, and a starburst mode, which is generally interpreted as driven by merging. Using a…
Observations now probe the star formation history of the Universe back to a redshift of $z\sim5$. We investigate whether the predictions of semi-analytic models of galaxy formation based on hierarchical Cold Dark Matter (CDM) type models…
Merging systems at low redshift provide the unique opportunity to study the processes related to star formation in a variety of environments that presumably resemble those seen at higher redshifts. Previous studies of distant starbursting…
This lecture reviews the fundamental physical processes involved in star formation in galaxy interactions and mergers. Interactions and mergers often drive intense starbursts, but the link between interstellar gas physics, large scale…
A key unresolved question is the role that galaxy mergers play in driving stellar mass growth over cosmic time. Recent observational work hints at the possibility that the overall contribution of `major' mergers (mass ratios $\gtrsim$1:4)…
Recent observations with the IRAM instruments have allowed to explore the star formation efficiency in galaxies as a function of redshift, in detecting and mapping their molecular gas. Some galaxies stand on what is called the "main…
Star formation in strongly self-gravitating cloud cores should be similar at all redshifts, forming single or multiple stars with a range of masses determined by local magneto-hydrodynamics and gravity. The formation processes for these…