Related papers: The Dissipative Merger Progenitors of Elliptical G…
(ABRIDGED) We examine the fundamental scaling relations of elliptical galaxies formed through mergers. Using hundreds of simulations to judge the impact of progenitor galaxy properties on merger remnants, we find that gas dissipation…
There are strong correlations between the three structural properties of elliptical galaxies -- stellar mass, velocity dispersion and size -- in the form of a tight "fundamental plane" and a "scaling relation" between each pair. Major…
We develop observational tests of the idea that dissipation in gas-rich mergers produces the fundamental plane (FP) and related correlations obeyed by ellipticals. The FP 'tilt' implies lower-mass ellipticals have a higher ratio of stellar…
We carry out numerical simulations of dissipationless major mergers of elliptical galaxies using initial galaxy models that consist of a dark matter halo and a stellar bulge with properties consistent with the observed fundamental plane. By…
We use numerical simulations to examine the structure of merger remnants resulting from collisions of gas-rich spiral galaxies. When the gas fraction of the progenitors is small, the remnants structurally and kinematically resemble…
Observations consistently show that elliptical galaxies follow a tight "fundamental plane" scaling relation between size, mean surface brightness and velocity dispersion, with the form $R \propto \sigma^{a}\mu^{b}$. This relation not only…
We study whether dry merger-driven size growth of massive elliptical galaxies depends on their initial structural concentration, and analyse the validity of the homology hypothesis for virial mass determination in massive ellipticals grown…
The properties of elliptical galaxies are broadly consistent with simulated remnants of gas-rich mergers between spirals, motivating more detailed studies of the imprint of this formation mechanism on the remnant distribution function. Gas…
We use numerical simulations to study the kinematic structure of remnants formed from mergers of equal-mass disk galaxies. In particular, we show that remnants of dissipational mergers, which include the radiative cooling of gas, star…
We construct a physically motivated model for predicting the properties of the remnants of gaseous galaxy mergers, given the properties of the progenitors and the orbit. The model is calibrated using a large suite of SPH merger simulations.…
Using a high resolution hydrodynamical cosmological simulation of the formation of a massive spheroidal galaxy we show that elliptical galaxies can be very compact and massive at high redshift in agreement with recent observations.…
We revisit collisionless major and minor mergers of spheroidal galaxies in the context of the size evolution of elliptical galaxies. The simulations are performed as a series of mergers with mass-ratios of 1:1 and 1:10 for models…
We present collisionless simulations of dry mergers in groups of three to twenty-five galaxies to test the hypothesis that elliptical galaxies form at the centers of such groups. Mock observations of the central remnants confirm their…
We determine both representations of the Fundamental Plane [Re Sig^a Ie^b and Re (Sig^2/Ie)^lambda] and the luminosity-effective phase space density [L fe^(-gamma)] scaling relation for N-body remnants of binary mergers of spiral-like…
Elliptical galaxies formed in a major merger tend to become more nearly spherical with time, thanks to the gravitational effect of their central black hole (or black holes). Observational results indicate that elliptical galaxies with older…
We analyse N-body galaxy merger experiments involving disc galaxies. Mergers of disc-bulge-halo models are compared to those of bulge-less, disc-halo models to quantify the effects of the central bulge on the merger dynamics and on the…
We present a study of tidal debris associated with 126 nearby red galaxies selected from the MUSYC and NDWFS surveys. In the full sample 67 galaxies (53%) show morphological signatures of tidal interactions, consisting of broad fans of…
Dissipationless (gas-free or "dry") mergers have been suggested to play a major role in the formation and evolution of early-type galaxies, particularly in growing their mass and size without altering their stellar populations. We perform a…
Merger remnants of small groups of galaxies are contrasted with relics of mergers of pairs of galaxies to determine which process produces objects that best compare to real ellipticals. In both cases, the progenitors consist of…
We investigate detailed kinematical properties of simulated collisionless merger remnants of disk galaxies with mass ratios of 1:1 and 3:1. The simulations were performed by direct summation using the new special hardware device GRAPE-5. In…