Unequal-mass galaxy merger remnants: spiral-like morphology but elliptical-like kinematics

Bournaud, Frederic and Combes, Francoise and Jog, Chanda J (2004) Unequal-mass galaxy merger remnants: spiral-like morphology but elliptical-like kinematics. [Preprint]

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Abstract

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 intermediate range of mass ratios 4:1-10:1 has not been studied so far. Using N-body simulations, we show that such mergers can result in very peculiar systems, that have the morphology of a disk galaxy with an exponential profile, but whose kinematics is closer to that of elliptical systems. These objects are similar to those recently observed by Jog & Chitre (2002). We present two cases with mass ratios 4.5:1 and 7:1, and show that the merging causes major heating and results in the appearance of elliptical-type kinematics, while surprisingly the initial spiral-like mass profile is conserved.

Item Type:	Preprint
Keywords:	Galaxies interaction;Galaxies formation;Galaxies evolution;Galaxies kinematics
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	06 Jul 2004
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:13
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/536

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