Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dda....40.0701h&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DDA meeting #40, #7.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.901
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Traditionally, it has been thought that elliptical galaxies formed primarily in a dissipationless manner, because these objects are deficient in gas relative to spirals and are spheroidal in shape, unlike galaxies with thin disks. Within the context of the merger hypothesis for the origin of ellipticals, it has long been recognized that mergers between pure stellar disks cannot explain the high central phase space densities of ellipticals. In this talk, I describe simulations exploring the consequences of dissipation in building elliptical galaxies through mergers and signatures of this process in their observed properties. In particular, in major mergers between gas-rich disks, strong inflows of gas into the center of the remnant can be induced, accounting for the high central star formation rates inferred in ultraluminous infrared galaxies and fueling the growth of supermassive black holes. The interplay between black hole fueling and feedback processes makes these objects visible as optical quasars before they evolve into passive galaxies with global properties similar to ellipticals. The relic signatures of this phase of evolution can be seen in the light profiles of observed ellipticals which exhibit a two-component structure and through correlations between supermassive black holes and their hosts. The simulations provide a physical basis for understanding the formation of ellipticals abd demonstrate that dissipation played a fundamental role in establishing the fundamental plane of ellipticals and the compact nature of these galaxies at high redshifts.
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