Related papers: Overmerging and M/L ratios in phenomenological gal…
We calculate the rate at which dark matter halos merge to form higher mass systems. Two complementary derivations using Press-Schechter theory are given, both of which result in the same equation for the formation rate. First, a derivation…
A semi-analytic model is proposed that couples the Press-Schechter formalism for the number of galaxies with a prescription for galaxy-galaxy interactions that enables to follow the evolution of galaxy morphologies along the Hubble…
(Abridged) We develop a model for the cosmological role of mergers in the evolution of starbursts, quasars, and spheroidal galaxies. Combining halo mass functions (MFs) with empirical halo occupation models, we calculate where major…
I highlight recent progress in our understanding of the origin of disk galaxy scaling laws in a hierarchically clustering universe. Numerical simulations of galaxy formation in Cold Dark Matter (CDM) dominated universes indicate that the…
We construct a simple phenomenological model for the evolving galaxy population by incorporating pre-defined baryonic prescriptions into a dark matter hierarchical merger tree. Specifically the model is based on the simple gas-regulator…
We derive analytic merger rates for dark-matter haloes within the framework of the Extended Press-Schechter (EPS) formalism. These rates become self-consistent within EPS once we realize that the typical merger in the limit of a small…
The rate of merging of dark-matter halos is an absolutely essential ingredient for studies of both structure and galaxy formation. Remarkably, however, our quantitative understanding of the halo merger rate is still quite limited, and…
We give a brief review of current theoretical work in galaxy formation. Recent results from N-body and N-body/hydrodynamic simulations, and from semianalytic modelling are discussed. We present updated versions of some figures from Cole et…
We conduct Bayesian model inferences from the observed K-band luminosity function of galaxies in the local Universe, using the semi-analytic model (SAM) of galaxy formation introduced in Lu et al (2011). The prior distributions for the 14…
Different methodologies lead to order-of-magnitude variations in predicted galaxy merger rates. We examine and quantify the dominant uncertainties. Different halo merger rates and subhalo 'destruction' rates agree to within a factor ~2…
We analyse the Tully-Fisher relation at moderate redshift from the point of view of the underlying stellar populations, by comparing optical and NIR photometry with a phenomenological model that combines population synthesis with a simple…
We use semi-analytic models and cosmological merger trees to provide the initial conditions for multi-merger numerical hydrodynamic simulations, and exploit these simulations to explore the effect of galaxy interaction and merging on star…
We use spiral galaxy evolution models to argue that there are substantial variations in stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L) within and among galaxies. Our models show a strong correlation between stellar M/L and galaxy color. We compare the…
The bimodality in observed present-day galaxy colours has long been a challenge for hierarchical galaxy formation models, as it requires some physical process to quench (and keep quenched) star formation in massive galaxies. Here we examine…
In a previous paper, we described a new method for including detailed information about substructure in semi-analytic models of halo formation based on merger trees. In this paper, we compare the predictions of our model with results from…
This article concerns the formation and structure of dark matter halos, including (1) their radial density profiles, (2) their abundance, and (3) their merger rates. The last topic may be relevant to the nature of the small, bright,…
We investigate the evolution of dwarf galaxies using N -body/SPH simulations that incorporate their formation histories through merger trees constructed using the ex- tended Press-Schechter formalism. The simulations are computationally…
We study merger histories of dark-matter haloes in a suite of N-body simulations that span different cosmological models. The simulated cases include the up-to-date WMAP5 cosmology and other test cases based on the Einstein-deSitter…
(Abridged) We develop and test a model for the cosmological role of mergers in the formation and quenching of red, early-type galaxies. Making the ansatz that star formation is quenched after a gas-rich, spheroid-forming major merger, we…
The Tully-Fisher relation (TFR) links the stellar mass of a disk galaxy, $M_{\rm str}$, to its rotation speed: it is well approximated by a power law, shows little scatter, and evolves weakly with redshift. The relation has been interpreted…