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| Paper: |
Interaction-Triggered Evolution of Galaxies in Pairs |
| Volume: |
230, Galaxy Disks and Disk Galaxies |
| Page: |
459 |
| Authors: |
Barton, E. J. |
| Abstract: |
High resolution N-body/SPH simulations predict that close galaxy-galaxy passes can drive up to half of the gas in the progenitor galaxy disks into the centers of the galaxies. These close passes provide an effective means of redistributing baryons in galaxies and of triggering central star formation. I describe a comprehensive study of a sample of 502 nearby galaxies in close pairs and n-tuples selected from the CfA2 redshift survey. Many galaxies show substantial central star formation. A comparison of the star formation timescales with dynamical timescales shows that the episodes of triggered, pre-merging star formation typically endure more than 300 Myr, allowing the build-up of a substantial number of new stars. This process, which is analogous to secular evolution, may trigger evolution along the Hubble sequence. Several of the galaxies with strong recent star formation are similar to compact, blue galaxies at intermediate redshift; the central star formation triggered by close galaxy-galaxy passes or, similarly, by minor mergers, can preferentially illuminate the centers of galaxies with new stars and create the appearance of compact, blue morphology in spiral galaxies at intermediate redshift. |
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