Galaxy mergers with various mass ratios: Properties of remnants

Jog, CJ and Bournaud, F and Combes, F (2005) Galaxy mergers with various mass ratios: Properties of remnants. In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, 437 (1). pp. 69-85.

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Abstract

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 range of mass ratio results in hybrid systems with spiral-like luminosity profiles but with elliptical-like kinematics, as observed in the data analysis for a sample of mergers by Jog & Chitre (2002). In this paper, we study the merger remnants for mass ratios from 1:1 to 10:1 while systematically covering the parameter space. We obtain the morphological and kinematical properties of the remnants, and also discuss the robustness and the visibility of disks in the merger remnants with a random line-of-sight. We show that the mass ratios 1:1–3:1 give rise to elliptical remnants whereas the mass ratios 4.5:1–10:1 produce hybrid systems with mixed properties. We find that the transition between disk-like and elliptical remnants occurs between a narrow mass range of 4.5:1–3:1. The unequal-mass mergers are more likely to occur than the standard equal-mass mergers studied in the literature so far, and we discuss their implications for the evolution of galaxies.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Astronomy and Astrophysics
Publisher:	EDP Sciences
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to EDP Sciences.
Keywords:	Galaxies: evolution;Galaxies: kinematics and dynamics;Galaxies:formation;Galaxies:interactions;Galaxies: structure
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	19 Feb 2007
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:34
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/9405

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