Do Spiral-Spiral Mergers Make Real Elliptical Galaxies?

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

Mergers appear to play a fundamental role in galaxy evolution at all redshifts. Unfortunately, our knowledge of galaxy mergers is still limited and based on studies of only a handful of objects. To address this deficiency, we have conducted a large scale, in-depth survey of 52 optically selected merging systems in the local universe to study whether they make viable elliptical galaxies. Using deep infrared photometry (μ K ˜ 21) obtained with QUIRC on the University of Hawaii 2.2 meter telescope and high resolution (R ˜ 8800) spectra obtained with ESI on Keck-2, we have measured surface brightness profiles and velocity dispersions. The goal is to test if these mergers have elliptical-like profiles and whether they lie on the Fundamental Plane. These are two key diagnostics of the mergers-make-ellipticals hypothesis. We present here the initial results of our survey.

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