The observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals
Galaxy mergers are crucial to understanding galaxy evolution, therefore we must determine their observational signatures to select them from large IFU galaxy samples such as MUSE and SAMI. We employ 24 high-resolution idealised hydrodynamical galaxy merger simulations based on the "Feedback In...
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ftcaltechauth:oai:authors.library.caltech.edu:y1dkc-0h420 2024-09-09T20:06:25+00:00 The observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals McElroy, Rebecca Bottrell, Connor Hani, Maan H. Moreno, Jorge Croom, Scott M. Hayward, Christopher C. Twum, Angela Feldmann, Robert Hopkins, Philip F. Hernquist, Lars Husemann, Bernd 2022-08-18 https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2206.07545 unknown arXiv http://arxiv.org/abs/2206.07545 https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20220825-833695900 https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2206.07545 oai:authors.library.caltech.edu:y1dkc-0h420 eprintid:116357 resolverid:CaltechAUTHORS:20220818-003825154 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Other galaxies:formation – galaxies:evolution – galaxies: interactions – galaxies: kinematics and dynamics info:eu-repo/semantics/report 2022 ftcaltechauth https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2206.07545 2024-08-06T15:35:00Z Galaxy mergers are crucial to understanding galaxy evolution, therefore we must determine their observational signatures to select them from large IFU galaxy samples such as MUSE and SAMI. We employ 24 high-resolution idealised hydrodynamical galaxy merger simulations based on the "Feedback In Realistic Environment" (FIRE-2) model to determine the observability of mergers to various configurations and stages using synthetic images and velocity maps. Our mergers cover a range of orbital configurations at fixed 1:2.5 stellar mass ratio for two gas rich spirals at low redshift. Morphological and kinematic asymmetries are computed for synthetic images and velocity maps spanning each interaction. We divide the interaction sequence into three: (1) the pair phase; (2) the merging phase; and (3) the post-coalescence phase. We correctly identify mergers between first pericentre passage and 500 Myr after coalescence using kinematic asymmetry with 66% completeness, depending upon merger phase and the field-of-view of the observation. We detect fewer mergers in the pair phase (40%) and many more in the merging and post-coalescence phases (97%). We find that merger detectability decreases with field-of-view, except in retrograde mergers, where centrally concentrated asymmetric kinematic features enhances their detectability. Using a cut-off derived from a combination of photometric and kinematic asymmetry, we increase these detections to 89% overall, 79% in pairs, and close to 100% in the merging and post-coalescent phases. By using this combined asymmetry cut-off we mitigate some of the effects caused by smaller fields-of-view subtended by massively multiplexed integral field spectroscopy programmes. RM acknowledges and pays respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose unceded, sovereign, ancestral lands the University of Sydney is built; and the traditional owners of the land on which the University of Queensland is situated, the Turrbal and Jagera people. We pay respects to their Ancestors and ... Report sami Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) Queensland |
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Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) |
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galaxies:formation – galaxies:evolution – galaxies: interactions – galaxies: kinematics and dynamics |
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galaxies:formation – galaxies:evolution – galaxies: interactions – galaxies: kinematics and dynamics McElroy, Rebecca Bottrell, Connor Hani, Maan H. Moreno, Jorge Croom, Scott M. Hayward, Christopher C. Twum, Angela Feldmann, Robert Hopkins, Philip F. Hernquist, Lars Husemann, Bernd The observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals |
topic_facet |
galaxies:formation – galaxies:evolution – galaxies: interactions – galaxies: kinematics and dynamics |
description |
Galaxy mergers are crucial to understanding galaxy evolution, therefore we must determine their observational signatures to select them from large IFU galaxy samples such as MUSE and SAMI. We employ 24 high-resolution idealised hydrodynamical galaxy merger simulations based on the "Feedback In Realistic Environment" (FIRE-2) model to determine the observability of mergers to various configurations and stages using synthetic images and velocity maps. Our mergers cover a range of orbital configurations at fixed 1:2.5 stellar mass ratio for two gas rich spirals at low redshift. Morphological and kinematic asymmetries are computed for synthetic images and velocity maps spanning each interaction. We divide the interaction sequence into three: (1) the pair phase; (2) the merging phase; and (3) the post-coalescence phase. We correctly identify mergers between first pericentre passage and 500 Myr after coalescence using kinematic asymmetry with 66% completeness, depending upon merger phase and the field-of-view of the observation. We detect fewer mergers in the pair phase (40%) and many more in the merging and post-coalescence phases (97%). We find that merger detectability decreases with field-of-view, except in retrograde mergers, where centrally concentrated asymmetric kinematic features enhances their detectability. Using a cut-off derived from a combination of photometric and kinematic asymmetry, we increase these detections to 89% overall, 79% in pairs, and close to 100% in the merging and post-coalescent phases. By using this combined asymmetry cut-off we mitigate some of the effects caused by smaller fields-of-view subtended by massively multiplexed integral field spectroscopy programmes. RM acknowledges and pays respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose unceded, sovereign, ancestral lands the University of Sydney is built; and the traditional owners of the land on which the University of Queensland is situated, the Turrbal and Jagera people. We pay respects to their Ancestors and ... |
format |
Report |
author |
McElroy, Rebecca Bottrell, Connor Hani, Maan H. Moreno, Jorge Croom, Scott M. Hayward, Christopher C. Twum, Angela Feldmann, Robert Hopkins, Philip F. Hernquist, Lars Husemann, Bernd |
author_facet |
McElroy, Rebecca Bottrell, Connor Hani, Maan H. Moreno, Jorge Croom, Scott M. Hayward, Christopher C. Twum, Angela Feldmann, Robert Hopkins, Philip F. Hernquist, Lars Husemann, Bernd |
author_sort |
McElroy, Rebecca |
title |
The observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals |
title_short |
The observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals |
title_full |
The observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals |
title_fullStr |
The observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals |
title_full_unstemmed |
The observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals |
title_sort |
observability of galaxy merger signatures in nearby gas-rich spirals |
publisher |
arXiv |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2206.07545 |
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Queensland |
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Queensland |
genre |
sami |
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sami |
op_relation |
http://arxiv.org/abs/2206.07545 https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20220825-833695900 https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2206.07545 oai:authors.library.caltech.edu:y1dkc-0h420 eprintid:116357 resolverid:CaltechAUTHORS:20220818-003825154 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Other |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2206.07545 |
_version_ |
1809938843982364672 |