CPC Seminar: Characterizing galaxy merger remnants with photometry and kinematics

  • June 21, 2021, 4:00 pm US/Central
  • Connor Bottrell, Kavli IPMU

Abstract: As observed triggers of starbursts, active galactic nuclei, and the energetic feedback produced by these phenomena, galaxy mergers are uniquely poised to examine some of the most crucial ingredients of galaxy formation and evolution. Spectroscopic studies of galaxy pairs have shed light on the role of mergers in driving the ex-situ build-up of stellar material in galaxies, in-situ star-formation, nuclear activity, and gas redistribution. However, we struggle to observationally identify galaxies in the crucial post-merger or “remnant” phase and establish similar connections to their detailed characteristics. Consequently, the present literature largely treats post-merger galaxies as a homogeneous population and the sensitivity of merger-triggered phenomena to the initial conditions and time-since-merger are critically unexplored. In this seminar, I will show how advances in (1) imaging and integral field spectroscopy surveys, (2) the fidelity of hydrodynamical simulations, (3) synthetic observations, and (4) deep learning may be leveraged to identify post-merger galaxies and estimate their detailed characteristics.

 

For more information, please contact Yu-Dai Tsai at ytsaiATfnal.gov.

Zoom: https://fermipoint.fnal.gov/service/seminars