2001A&A...367..428A -
Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 367, 428-442 (2001/2-4)
Growth of galactic bulges by mergers. I. Dense satellites.
AGUERRI J.A.L., BALCELLS M. and PELETIER R.F.
Abstract (from CDS):
Andredakis et al. (
1995MNRAS.275..874A) fit Sersic's law µ(r)∼r
1/n to the bulges of the Balcells & Peletier (
1994AJ....107..135B) galaxy sample, and infer that n drops with morphological type T from n≃4-6 for S0 to n=1 (exponential) for Sc's. We use collisionless N body simulations to test the assumption that initially the surface brightness profiles of all bulges were exponential, and that the steepening of the profiles toward the early-types is due to satellite accretion. The results are positive. After the accretion of a satellite, bulge-disk fits show that the bulge grows and that the bulge profile index n increases proportional to the satellite mass. For a satellite as massive as the bulge, n rises from 1 to 4. We present kinematic diagnostics on the remnants and disk thickening. The latter suggests that the bulge growth must have occurred before the last formation of a thin disk in the galaxy. The thick disks created by the merger are reminiscent of thick disks seen in early-type edge-on galaxies. The efficiency of the process suggests that present day bulges of late-type spirals showing exponential profiles cannot have grown significantly by collisionless mergers.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
galaxies: evolution - galaxies: interactions - galaxies: kinematics and dynamics - galaxies: nuclei - galaxies: spiral - galaxies: structure
Simbad objects:
2
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