Identifying galaxy mergers and their effect on star formation rates
2020.01.09 14:37 - Anna RędaszekGalaxy mergers underpin our current understanding of how galaxies grow and evolve. In the current CDM models, dark matter halos merge hierarchically resulting in the collision between their baryonic counterparts. During these mergers the galaxies are disrupted, with the tidal forces twisting and distorting them, moving the stars, dust and gas and changing morphologies. This movement of material can also trigger extreme events, with gas pushed into the centre of the galaxies triggering active galactic nuclei and the compression of the gas triggering periods of intense star formation.