The distribution of galaxy morphological types is a key test for models of galaxy formation and evolution, providing strong constraints on the relative contribution of different physical processes responsible for the growth of the spheroidal components. In this paper, we make use of a suite of semi-analytic models to study the efficiency of galaxy mergers in disrupting galaxy discs and building galaxy bulges. In particular, we compare standard prescriptions usually adopted in semi-analytic models, with new prescriptions proposed by Kannan et al., based on results from high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations, and we show that these new implementations reduce the efficiency of bulge formation through mergers. In addition, we compare our model results with a variety of observational measurements of the fraction of spheroid-dominated galaxies as a function of stellar and halo mass, showing that the present uncertainties in the data represent an important limitation to our understanding of spheroid formation. Our results indicate that the main tension between theoretical models and observations does not stem from the survival of purely disc structures (i.e. bulgeless galaxies), rather from the distribution of galaxies of different morphological types, as a function of their stellar mass.
Non-parametric Morphologies of Mergers in the Illustris Simulation
我们研究的非参数形态的合并事件在宇宙学的背景下，使用的Illustris项目。我们产生模拟G-波段的图像相比，从公开的插图模拟理想化的模拟图像在$z=0$的观测调查。然后，我们测量非参数指标：不对称性，基尼系数，$M_{20}$，块状和浓度的一组星系与$M_* >10^{10}$ M $_\odot$。我们将这些自动统计数据与星系最近的合并历史和密切同伴的存在相关联。我们的主要贡献是评估在宇宙学框架，经验得出的非参数分界线和平均时间尺度，用于确定合并率观测。我们发现，在分界线以上的星系中，98%都有一个亲密的伴星，或者最近经历了一次合并事件。平均而言，从$G-M_{20}$标准中获得的合并签名与到最后一次合并事件的过去时间明显相关。我们还发现，这种不对称性与星系对的分离和相对速度有关，对分离为$d < 50$ h $^{-1}$ kpc和相对速度为$V < 350$ km s $^{-1}$的系统，这种不对称性增强较大.我们发现，$G-M_{20}$是最敏感的最近的合并（$\sim0.14$陀螺仪）和正在进行的合并与恒星质量比大于0.1。对于这个指标，我们计算合并的平均观测时间尺度的$\sim0.2$陀螺仪，与以前的结果一致，并表明，形态学推导的合并率恢复固有的总合并率的模拟和合并率作为恒星质量的函数。
We perform a super-resolution analysis of the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) images to estimate the major merger fractions of z~4-7 dropout galaxies at the bright end of galaxy UV luminosity functions (LFs). Our super-resolution technique improves the spatial resolution of the ground-based HSC images, from ~1" to <~0."1, which is comparable to that of the Hubble Space Telescope, allowing us to identify z~4-7 bright major mergers at a high completeness value of >~90%. We apply the super-resolution technique to 6412, 16, 94, and 13 very bright dropout galaxies at z~4, 5, 6, and 7, respectively, …
The relative roles of mergers and star formation in regulating galaxy growth are still a matter of intense debate. We here present our DECODE, a new Discrete statistical sEmi-empiriCal mODEl specifically designed to predict rapidly and efficiently, in a full cosmological context, galaxy assembly and merger histories for any given input stellar mass-halo mass (SMHM) relation. DECODE generates object-by-object dark matter merger trees (hence discrete) from accurate subhalo mass and infall redshift probability functions (hence statistical) for all subhaloes, including those residing within other …
Galaxy mergers are hugely important in our current dark matter cosmology. These powerful events cause the disruption of the merging galaxies, pushing the gas, stars and dust of the galaxies resulting in changes to morphologies. This disruption can also cause more extreme events inside the galaxies: periods of extreme star formation rates and the rapid increase in active galactic nuclei activity. Hence, to better understand what goes on in these rare events, we need to be able to identify statistically large samples. In the last few years, the growth of artificial intelligence techniques has se…
We measure the role of major and minor mergers in forming the stellar masses of galaxies over $0<z<3$ using a combination of $\sim 3.25$ deg$^{2}$ of the deepest ground based near-infrared imaging taken to date as part of the REFINE survey. We measure the pair fraction and merger fractions for galaxy mergers of different mass ratios, and quantify the merger rate with newly measured time-scales derived from the Illustris simulation as a function of redshift and merger mass ratio. We find that over $0 < z < 3$ major mergers with mass ratios greater than 1:4 occur $0.85^{+0.19}_{-0.20}$ times on …
One Merge to Rule Them All: From Galaxy Interactions to Black Hole Mergers Using Horizon-AGN
Institute of High-Energy Physics, University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学高能物理研究所）；University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学）；Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS（巴黎天体物理研究所，索邦大学，法国国家科学研究中心）；Deutsches Zentrum für Astrophysik (DZA)（德国天体物理学中心）；Universität Potsdam（波茨坦大学）；Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva（日内瓦大学天文学系）；Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)（宇宙黎明中心）；Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen（哥本哈根大学尼尔斯·玻尔研究所）；Sorbonne Université（索邦大学）；CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心）
A catalog of photometric redshift and the distribution of broad galaxy morphologies
我们创建了一个约3，000，000个SDSS星系的光度红移目录，并通过它们的广泛形态进行了注释。测光红移是通过测试和比较几种模式识别算法和变量选择策略来优化的，这些算法和变量选择策略是在目录中具有光谱的星系子集上进行训练和测试的。目录中的星系亮度大于18等，彼得罗相半径大于5.5“。这些天体中的大多数都没有包含在以前的SDSS测光红移星表中，例如SDSS DR 12的photoz表。对星表的分析表明，星表中视觉上呈螺旋状的星系数量增加，直到红移达到~0.085，在那里达到峰值并开始减少。它还表明，与椭圆星系相比，螺旋星系的数量随着红移的增加而减少。该目录可在https://figshare.com/articles/Morphology_and_photometric_redshift_catalog/4833593上公开获取
We estimate the evolution of the galaxy-galaxy merger fraction for $M_\star>10^{10.5}M_\odot$ galaxies over $0.25<z<1$ in the $\sim$18.6 deg$^2$ deep CLAUDS+HSC-SSP surveys. We do this by training a Random Forest Classifier to identify merger candidates from a host of parametric morphological features, and then visually follow-up likely merger candidates to reach a high-purity, high-completeness merger sample. Correcting for redshift-dependent detection bias, we find that the merger fraction at $z=0$ is 1.0$\pm$0.2%, that the merger fraction evolves as $(1+z)^{2.3 \pm 0.4}$, and that a typical…
Obscured AGN at z < 1.5: X-ray to Far-Infrared SEDs and Host Galaxy Morphologies in the GOODS Fields
University of Massachusetts, Amherst（马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校）；University of Wisconsin - Madison（威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校）；Eureka Scientific（尤里卡科学公司）；Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i（夏威夷大学天体物理研究所）；Wuhan University（武汉大学）；Northwestern University（西北大学）；Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics（耶鲁天文学与天体物理学中心）；Physics Department and Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics（耶鲁大学物理系及天文学与天体物理学中心）；Yale University（耶鲁大学）；DiRAC Institute and the Department of Astronomy, University of Washington（华盛顿大学DiRAC研究所及天文学系）
The global 21 cm HI emission-line profile of a galaxy encodes valuable information on the spatial distribution and kinematics of the neutral atomic gas. Galaxy interactions significantly influence the HI disk and imprint observable features on the integrated HI line profile. In this work, we study the neutral atomic gas properties of galaxy mergers selected from the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey. The HI spectra come from new observations with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope and from a collection of archival data. We quantify the HI profile of the mergers with a ne…
We use zoom simulations to show how merger-driven disruption of the gas disc in a galaxy provides its central active galactic nucleus (AGN) with fuel to drive outflows that entrain and expel a significant fraction of the circumgalactic medium (CGM). This in turn suppresses replenishment of the interstellar medium, causing the galaxy to quench up to several Gyr after the merger. We start by performing a zoom simulation of a present-day star-forming disc galaxy with the EAGLE galaxy formation model. Then, we re-simulate the galaxy with controlled changes to its initial conditions, using the gene…
We use a semi-analytic galaxy formation model to study the co-evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with their host galaxies. Although the coalescence of SMBHs is not important, the quasar-mode accretion induced by mergers plays a dominant role in the growth of SMBHs. Mergers play a more important role in the growth of SMBH host galaxies than in the SMBH growth. It is the combined contribution from quasar mode accretion and mergers to the SMBH growth and the combined contribution from starburst and mergers to their host galaxy growth that determine the observed scaling relation between…
Galaxy mergers trigger both star formation and accretion onto the central supermassive black hole. As a result of subsequent energetic feedback processes, it has long been proposed that star formation may be promptly extinguished in galaxy merger remnants. However, this prediction of widespread, rapid quenching in late stage mergers has been recently called into question with modern simulations and has never been tested observationally. Here we perform the first empirical assessment of the long-predicted end phase in the merger sequence. Based on a sample of ~500 post-mergers identified from t…
Observations have shown that the star-formation activity and the morphology of galaxies are closely related, but the underlying physical connection is not well understood. Using the TNG50 simulation, we explore the quenching and the morphological evolution of the 102 massive quiescent galaxies in the mass range of $10.5<\log(M_{\rm stellar}/M_{\odot})<11.5$ selected at $z=0$. The morphology of galaxies is quantified based on their kinematics, and we measure the quenching timescale of individual galaxies directly from star formation history. We show that galaxies tend to be quenched more rapidl…
We explore the galaxy-galaxy merger rate with the empirical model for galaxy formation, Emerge. On average, we find that between $2$ per cent and $20$ per cent of massive galaxies ($\log_{10}(m_{*}/M_{\odot}) \geq 10.3$) will experience a major merger per Gyr. Our model predicts galaxy merger rates that do not scale as a power-law with redshift when selected by descendant stellar mass, and exhibit a clear stellar mass and mass-ratio dependence. Specifically, major mergers are more frequent at high masses and at low redshift. We show mergers are significant for the stellar mass growth of galaxi…
How mergers shape galaxy morphology in the IllustrisTNG simulation
The Chinese University of Hong Kong（香港中文大学）；National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家天文台）；Institute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学前沿天文与天体物理研究所）；School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University（郑州大学物理与电气工程学院）；School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学天文与空间科学学院）
We study the evolution of rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) isotopes in the Galaxy. We analyze relative contributions from core collapse supernovae (CCSNe), neutron star mergers (NSMs) and collapsars under a range of astrophysical conditions and nuclear input data. Although the r-process in each of these sites can lead to similar (or differing) isotopic abundances, our simulations reveal that the early contribution of r-process material to the Galaxy was dominated by CCSNe and collapsar r-process nucleosynthesis, while the NSM contribution is unavoidably delayed even under the assumpti…
The occurrence of dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) on scales of a few tens of kpc can be used to study merger-induced accretion on massive black holes (MBHs) and to derive clues on MBH mergers, using dual AGN as a parent population of precursors. We investigate the properties of dual AGN in the cosmological simulation Horizon-AGN. We create catalogs of dual AGN selected with distance and luminosity criteria, plus sub-catalogs where further mass cuts are applied. We divide the sample into dual AGN hosted in different galaxies, on the way to a merger, and into those hosted in one galaxy, after …
