CHEMODYNAMIC EVOLUTION OF DWARF GALAXIES IN TIDAL FIELDS

ABSTRACT The mass-metallicity relation shows that the galaxies with the lowest mass have the lowest metallicities. As most dwarf galaxies are in group environments, interaction effects such as tides could contribute to this trend. We perform a series of smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2016-11, Vol.831 (1), p.1
Main Authors: Williamson, David, Martel, Hugo, Romeo, Alessandro B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Dwarf galaxies
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
Environmental effects
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
galaxies: abundances
galaxies: dwarf
galaxies: evolution
galaxies: interactions
GRAVITATIONAL INSTABILITY
HYDRODYNAMICS
INTERACTIONS
MASS
METALLICITY
SIMULATION
Smooth particle hydrodynamics
Star & galaxy formation
Star formation
STARS
Stars & galaxies
Tidal effects
Tides
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT The mass-metallicity relation shows that the galaxies with the lowest mass have the lowest metallicities. As most dwarf galaxies are in group environments, interaction effects such as tides could contribute to this trend. We perform a series of smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of dwarf galaxies in external tidal fields to examine the effects of tides on their metallicities and metallicity gradients. In our simulated galaxies, gravitational instabilities drive gas inwards and produce centralized star formation and a significant metallicity gradient. Strong tides can contribute to these instabilities, but their primary effect is to strip the outer low-metallicity gas, producing a truncated gas disk with a large metallicity. This suggests that the effect of tides on the mass-metallicity relation is to move dwarf galaxies to higher metallicities.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
1538-4357
DOI:10.3847/0004-637X/831/1/1