Related papers: Study of galaxy morphology and merging time of two…
It is generally believed that major galaxy mergers with mass ratios in the range 1:1-3:1 result in remnants that have properties similar to elliptical galaxies, and minor mergers below 10:1 result in disturbed spiral galaxies. The…
Two mathematical models of three bodies of variable masses are used to obtain a qualitative description of two interacting galaxies with mass exchange and mass loss. The reference system is centred on the largest body (the most massive…
The majority of galaxy mergers are expected to be minor mergers. The observational signatures of minor mergers are not well understood, thus there exist few constraints on the minor merger rate. This paper seeks to address this gap in our…
A key obstacle to understanding the galaxy merger rate and its role in galaxy evolution is the difficulty in constraining the merger properties and time-scales from instantaneous snapshots of the real universe.The most common way to…
We study galaxy mergers with various mass ratios using N-body simulations, with an emphasis on the unequal-mass mergers in the relatively unexplored range of mass-ratios 4:1-10:1. Our recent work (Bournaud et al. 2004) shows that the above…
We use the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to measure the local Universe mass dependent merger fraction and merger rate using galaxy pairs and the CAS structural method, which identifies highly asymmetric merger candidate galaxies.…
The evolution of our Universe is strongly influenced by the attractive force of gravity. A key aspect of this evolution, therefore, is the merging of galaxies. Here, we explore the role of mergers in shaping the properties of massive…
Bulges and disks are major structural components that define galaxy morphology. The mass ratios of bulges and disks increase statistically with the galaxy mass, with the high-mass end occupied by elliptical galaxies. Although previous…
Galaxy merging is the late time manifestation of the galaxy formation process and likely significantly effects $z<1$ galaxies. A ``maximum reasonable rate'' model for merging finds a $\sim2$ mag K band increase in the luminosities of dwarf…
Gas-rich galaxy mergers are more easily identified by their disturbed morphologies than mergers with less gas. Because the typical gas fraction of galaxy mergers is expected to increase with redshift, the under-counting of low gas-fraction…
There are many proposed mechanisms driving the morphological transformation of disk galaxies to elliptical galaxies. In this paper, we determine if the observed transformation in low mass groups can be explained by the merger histories of…
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…
Galaxies accrete their mass by means of both smooth accretion from the cosmic web, and the mergers of smaller entities. We wish to quantify the respective role of these two modes of accretion, which could determine the morphological types…
Understanding the role of mergers in galaxy formation is one of the most outstanding problems in extragalactic astronomy. While we now have an idea for how the merger fraction evolves at redshifts z < 3, converting this merger fraction into…
Given their prominent role in galaxy evolution, it is of paramount importance to unveil galaxy interactions and merger events and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. The use of high-resolution data makes it easier to identify merging…
We present a full analysis of galaxy major merger pair fractions, merger rates, and mass accretion rates, thus uncovering the role of mergers in galaxy formation at the earliest previously unexplored epoch of $4.5<z<11.5$. We target…
Galaxy mergers play a crucial role in shaping the morphology, the star formation, and the mass growth of galaxies across cosmic time. While mergers have been extensively investigated in the local Universe, the evolution of their frequency…
The pace at which galaxies grew into their current stellar masses and how this growth is regulated is still not fully understood, nor is the role that morphology plays in this process. We applied full spectral fitting techniques with…
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…
We present cross sections and reaction rates for merging to occur during encounters of equal-mass spherical galaxies. As an application, we determine the rate of galaxy merging in clusters of galaxies. We present results for two types of…