• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.473-474
• /
• 2015

Halo merger trees are the essential backbone of semi-analytic models for galaxy formation and evolution. Srisawat et al. (2013) show that different tree building algorithms can build different halo merger histories from a numerical simulation for structure formation. In order to understand the differences induced by various tree building algorithms, we investigate the impact of halo merger trees on a semi-analytic model. We find that galaxy properties in our models show differences between trees when using a common parameter set. The models independently calibrated for each tree can reduce the discrepancies between global galaxy properties at z=0. Conversely, with regard to the evolutionary features of galaxies, the calibration slightly increases the differences between trees. Therefore, halo merger trees extracted from a common numerical simulation using different, but reliable, algorithms can result in different galaxy properties in the semi-analytic model. Considering the uncertainties in baryonic physics governing galaxy formation and evolution, however, these differences may not necessarily be significant.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.33.2-33.2
• /
• 2014

Halo merger trees are essential backbones of semi-analytic models for galaxy formation and evolution. Recent studies have pointed out that extracting merger trees from numerical simulations of structure formation is non-trivial; different algorithm can give differing merger histories. Thus they should be carefully understood before being used as input for models of galaxy formation. As one of the projects proposed in the SUSSING MERGER TREES Workshop, we investigate the impact of different halo merger trees on a semi-analytic model. We find that the z = 0 global galaxy properties in our model show differences between trees when using a common parameter set, but that these differences are not very significant. However, the star formation history of the Universe and the properties of satellite galaxies can show marked differences between trees with different methods for constructing a tree. Calibrating the SAM for each tree individually to the empirical data can reduce the discrepancies between the z = 0 global galaxy properties, however this is at cost of increasing the differences in evolutionary histories of galaxies. Furthermore, the underlying physics implied can vary, resulting in key quantities such as the supernova feedback efficiency differing by factors of 2. Such a change alters the regimes where star formation is primarily suppressed by supernovae. Therefore, halo merger trees extracted from a common halo catalogue using different, but reliable, algorithms can result in a difference in the semi-analytic model, however, given the enormous uncertainties in galaxy formation physics, these are not necessarily significant.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.76.2-76.2
• /
• 2011

It is widely accepted that the SED of a galaxy relates to its morphology. In addition, the SED of the galaxy is closely connected to its star formation history, and its morphological properties are affected by the merger history, interactions with its environment, and the gravitational instability of its dynamical system. Thus, it is likely that star formation history correlates to the elements that determine morphological properties. Among the elements, this study investigates how much the merger histories of galaxies influence their star formation histories. By using simple merger trees and semi-analytic models, which disregard feedback processes to exclusively identify merger effects on star formation histories, we examine the relation between various merger histories and SEDs of galaxies. From the results, we discuss whether the SED of a galaxy can represent and constrain its merger history.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.34.1-34.1
• /
• 2016

Galaxy clusters are the sites where the most massive galaxies are found, and so the most dramatic merger histories are embedded. Our deep (mu ~ 28 mag/arcsec^2) images of Abell 119 at z = 0.044 using the Blanco 4-m telescope at CTIO revealed post-merger signatures in ~35% of galaxies brighter than Mr < -19.5, suggesting that so many galaxies even in clusters have gone through galaxy mergers at recent epoch. We went further to understand the impact of mergers in cluster galaxies using stellar kinematics from the SAMI Integral Field Unit on the galaxies of Abell 119 in three aspects of kinematics : orientations, levels of rotation, and kinematic shapes. We found that 30% of the merger-featured galaxies show misalignment in the angle between the photometric major and the rotation axes, and most of them show complex kinematics. For comparison, only 5% of non-merger-featured galaxies show the misalignment. Moreover, our analysis using the Tully-Fisher relation shows that galaxy interactions can both enhance or reduce galaxy spin depending on the merger geometry. We present our preliminary result and discussion on the role of galaxy mergers in cluster environment from the perspective of kinematics.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.40.1-40.1
• /
• 2012

In the hierarchical universe, galaxy merger is predicted to be frequent, and thus it is an important element for understanding galaxy evolution. In particular, star formation is greatly enhanced during the merger. The aim of this study is to understand the position and rate change of star formation caused by equal-mass edge-on mergers. We use the GADGET2- N-body/SPH code, and fully consider gas cooling, star formation, and supernova feedback. We show the star formation rate (SFR), and the magnitude and color evolution of the merger remnants for 18 different configurations varying orbit elements and inclinations of host galaxies against orbit planes. Then we construct the mock images of the remnants and investigate on how equal-mass galaxy merger affects the SFR and color/magnitude evolution while considering dust reddening. We conclude that over 90% mass of SF in equal-mass merger is in the central region. SF in tidal feature involves a small fraction of new stars and thus is difficult to detect unless deep imaging is performed. Around 55 ${\pm}$ 5 percent of gas turns into stars until the final coalescence which typically corresponds to 0.8, 1.2, and 2.5 Gyr for direct, parabolic, and elliptical orbit, respectively. This result is roughly consistent with Cox et al. 2000. We plan to implement this result into semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. Caveats and future work on merging conditions are discussed.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.34.3-35
• /
• 2016

Ram pressure stripping of early-type galaxies has been largely neglected until now because of their gas poor nature. MUSE IFU observation vividly reveal the presence of star-forming blobs and ionised gas tails, around an early-type galaxy in Abell 2670. The galaxy was identified as a post-merger galaxy with disturbed faint features, in MOSAIC 2 deep optical images. The imaging also revealed a series of star-forming blobs, situated in the direction facing away from the cluster centre. Thanks to the revolutionary wide field-of-view of the MUSE, combined with 8.2-m VLT (UT-4) at Cerro Paranal, we could simultaneously obtain IFU spectra of the blobs, as well as the galaxy. The MUSE spectra clearly confirms that the star-forming blobs are associated with the early-type galaxy. Moreover, MUSE reveals long ionised-gas tails, emanating from the galaxy. The quantity of gas indicates a gas rich progenitor has merged with the early-type galaxy. However the direction of the tails and blobs, and the blob morphology, appears to indicate that strong ram-pressure stripping may have stripped out gas brought in by the merger. We will present kinematic structure of the whole system (the galaxy, star-forming blobs, and gas tails), as well as the star formation history of the system, supporting a scenario where a recent galaxy merger is subjected to cluster environmental mechanisms.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.51.2-51.2
• /
• 2013

Galactic fly-by interactions are believed to be far more frequent than direct mergers, acting as hidden drivers of galaxy evolution. We perform a tree-particle-mesh code GOTPM, and investigate the statistical properties of the fly-by interactions as functions of halo masses and ambient environments. Based on the total energy of the two halos of interest, impulsive fly-by pairs are identified from eventual merger candidates. We find three obvious results as follows: (1) Halos in the high-dense environment experience more frequent mergers and fly-by encounters than those in the low-dense region; (2) In the massive halos, both merger and fly-by fractions evolve more dramatically with time than those in dwarfs; and (3) The fly-by fraction decreases as approaching the present epoch, in contrast to the increase of the merger fraction.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.60.3-61
• /
• 2016

Galaxy morphology involves complex effects from both secular and non-secular evolution of galaxies. Although it is a final product of galaxy evolution, it gives a clue to the processes that the a galaxy has gone through. Galaxy clusters are the sites where the most massive galaxies are found, and thus the most dramatic merger histories are embedded. Our deep imaging program (${\mu}{\sim}28\;mag\;arcsec^{-2}$), KASI-Yonsei Deep Imaging Survey for Clusters (KYDISC), targets 14 Abell clusters at z = 0.016 - 0.14 using IMACS/Magellan telescope and MegaCam/CFHT to investigate cluster galaxies especially on low surface brightness features related to galaxy interactions. We visually classify galaxy morphology based on criteria related to secular or merger related evolution and find that the morphological mixture of galaxies varies considerably from cluster to cluster. Moreover it depends on the characteristics (e.g. cluster mass) of cluster itself which implies that environmental effects in cluster scale is also an important factor to the evolution of galaxies together with intrinsic (secular) and galaxy merger. Our deep imaging survey for morphological inspection of cluster galaxies with low surface brightness is expected to be a useful basis to understand the nature of cluster galaxies and their internal/external evolutionary path.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.36.2-36.2
• /
• 2012

The aim of this study was to explore the role of galaxy mergers on the formation and evolution of galaxies in galaxy clusters. For this purpose, u', g', r' deep optical imaging and multi-object spectroscopic observation were done for four rich Abell clusters at z ${\lesssim}$ 0.1 (A119, A2670, A3330, and A389) with a MOSAIC 2 CCD and Hydra spectrograph mounted on a Blanco 4-m telescope at CTIO. With the deep images, we found that about 25% of the bright red-sequence galaxies exhibited post-merger signatures in a cluster environment. This fraction was much higher than what was expected from the results of the field environment (-35%, van Dokkum 2005) and significantly low on-going merger fractions (about one-fifth of the field) appeared in the clusters currently. Taking advantage of the most up-to-date semi-analytic model, the results indicate that most of the post-merger galaxies may have carried over their merger features from their previous halo environment. All the brightest cluster galaxies in our cluster samples revealed faint structures in their halos as well as multiple nuclei in their centers seen in the deep optical images. We suggest that the mass of the BCGs increased mainly though major mergers at recent epochs based on their post-merger signatures and the large gaps in the total magnitudes between the BCGs and the second-rank BCGs. A UV bright tidal tail and tidal dwarf galaxy (TDG) candidates around the post-merger galaxy, NGC 4922, were discovered in the outskirts of the Coma cluster using the GALEX UV data. We did two-component stellar population modeling for the TDG candidates and the results indicate that they are an early form of dwarf galaxies frequently found around massive early-type galaxies in clusters. In conclusion, we suggest that the mergers of galaxies are an important driving force behind galaxy formation and evolution in cluster environments even until recent epochs.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.72.1-72.1
• /
• 2021

Galaxy mergers are known to have been one of the main drivers in galaxy evolution in a wide range of environments. However, in galaxy clusters, high-speed encounters have been believed to undermine the role of mergers as a driver in galaxy evolution. Nonetheless, a high fraction (~38% in Sheen et al. 2012 and ~20% in Oh et al. 2018) of galaxies with post-merging features have been reported in deep (>~28 mag/arcsec2) optical surveys of cluster galaxies. The authors argue that these galaxies could have merged outside of the cluster and, later, fallen into the cluster, sustaining their long-lasting post-merging features. On the other hand, when galaxy clusters interact, galaxy orbits might be destabilized resulting in a higher galaxy merger rate. To test this idea, we measure the ongoing-merger fraction of galaxies in deep DECam mosaic data of seven Abell clusters (A754, A2399, A2670, A3558, A3574, A3659 and A3716) with a variety of dynamical states (0.016