Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Mar 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993apj...405..142w&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 405, no. 1, p. 142-152.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
67
Elliptical Galaxies, Galactic Evolution, Interacting Galaxies, Shell Galaxies, Astronomical Models, Galactic Nuclei, Interstellar Matter
Scientific paper
Using a code which is capable of evolving composite systems of collisionless matter and gas, we explore mergers like those thought responsible for the shells seen around many elliptical galaxies. If a small companion containing both gas and stars is accreted by a more massive primary, the stellar and gaseous debris are rapidly segregated: while the stars are free to oscillate back and forth in the primary's potential, thereby forming shells, the oppositely directed flows near the center of the primary effectively dissipate the orbital kinetic energy of the gas. Consequently, the gas settles into compact disks or rings in the nucleus of the primary, depending on orbital parameters. We note implications of these findings for the production of polar rings and the onset of nuclear activity in galaxies.
Hernquist Lars
Weil Melinda L.
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