Galaxy number counts models
Galaxy mergers: Key-processes in the formation of the Hubble Sequence?
Observationally, galaxy mergers are very frequent processes in the Universe. In fact, the current models of galaxy formation (based on cold dark matter) predict that galaxies were formed hierarchically, i.e., that the structures have grown through mergers of pre-collapsed galactic clumps. According to these models, merging would be the key process in the formation and evolution of galaxies, and in the evolution of the morphological types. Nevertheless, the relevance of merging in the evolution of galaxies is still unknown observationally, as well as its role in the formation and evolution of the galactic bulges (whose size compared to the disk size basically defines the morphological Hubble type of the galaxy).
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One of our research lines is centered in the study of the role of galaxy mergers in the formation of the early-type galactic population (elliptical and lenticular galaxies). We are working in semianalytical models of galaxy number counts, in collaboration with several researchers of the GOYA project at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, to try to understand the role of merging in th global evolution of galaxies. |
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| Figure 2: HST image of the central region of the merging pair NGC 4038 and 4039 (known as the Antennae galaxies). Credits: B. Whitmore (STSI). Source: The HubbleSite. |
Figure 3: HST image of the UGC 10214 system (or "Tadpole" galaxy). The distortion of the galaxy and its tidal tail are being produced by the blue galaxy which is falling onto it (at the top-left of the main galaxy in the image). The interaction is enhancing the presence of dust and star formation in the disk. Credit: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA. Source: The HubbleSite . |
