Computer Science
Scientific paper
Dec 1986
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986s%26t....72..582s&link_type=abstract
Sky and Telescope (ISSN 0037-6604), vol. 72, Dec. 1986, p. 582-587.
Computer Science
1
Cosmology, Galactic Evolution, Dark Matter, Elliptical Galaxies, Galactic Clusters, Galactic Rotation, Galactic Structure, Peculiar Galaxies, Star Formation
Scientific paper
Efforts of cosmologists to ascertain how and when the galaxies formed are recounted. Study of irregular or peculiar galaxies can be most revealing. Computer experiments have demonstrated that their bizarre shapes are due to near collisions; such events result in tidal disturbances that produce global distortions while also triggering the collapse of interstellar clouds. A close interaction between galaxies can induce a vigorous burst of star formation and many close interactions result in mergers. The collision of two galaxies at first produces an irregular system, but after hundreds of millions of years, a large elliptical galaxy will result. In spiral galaxies, star formation has continued from the beginning, while in ellipticals, star formation ended after a billion years. A key concept is that of 'relaxation time': for a stellar system such as a star cluster or galaxy, the relaxation time is the interval for all its members to interact and change their orbits and redistribute their energies significantly. The role of dark matter, that cannot be gaseous or ordinary stars, is considered. Several scenarios of galaxy cluster evolution are examined, involving weakly interacting elementary particles and density fluctuations, explosive galaxies, and 'pancake-fragmentation'. The cold dark matter hypothesis provides a compelling answer to the strong clustering of ellipticals, but this matter must be distributed uniformly on the scale of galaxy clusters.
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