Formation of gas discs in merging galaxies |
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Authors: | Joshua E Barnes |
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Institution: | Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA |
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Abstract: | Observations indicate that much of the interstellar gas in merging galaxies may settle into extended gaseous discs. Here, I present simulations of disc formation in mergers of gas-rich galaxies. Up to half of the total gas settles into embedded discs; the most massive instances result from encounters in which both galaxies are inclined to the orbital plane. These discs are often warped, many have rather complex kinematics, and roughly a quarter have counter-rotating or otherwise decoupled central components. Discs typically grow from the inside out; infall from tidal tails may continue disc formation over long periods of time. |
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Keywords: | hydrodynamics stellar dynamics galaxies: formation galaxies: interactions galaxies: kinematics and dynamics galaxies: structure |
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