The NGC7771+NGC7770 Minor Merger: Harassing the Little One?

Numerical simulations of minor mergers, typically having mass ratios greater than 3:1, predict little enhancement in the global star formation activity. However, these models also predict that the satellite galaxy is more susceptible to the effects of the interaction than the primary. We use optical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2012-06
Main Authors: Alonso-Herrero, Almudena, F Fabian Rosales Ortega, Sanchez, Sebastian F, Kennicutt, Robert C, Pereira-Santaella, Miguel, Diaz, Angeles I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomical models
Computer simulation
Filaments
Galaxies
Integral field spectroscopy
Mass ratios
Star & galaxy formation
Star formation rate
Stars & galaxies
Stellar mass
Stellar populations
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Summary:Numerical simulations of minor mergers, typically having mass ratios greater than 3:1, predict little enhancement in the global star formation activity. However, these models also predict that the satellite galaxy is more susceptible to the effects of the interaction than the primary. We use optical integral field spectroscopy and deep optical imaging to study the NGC7771+NGC7770 interacting system (~10:1 stellar mass ratio) to test these predictions. We find that the satellite galaxy NGC7770 is currently experiencing a galaxy-wide starburst with most of the optical light being from young and post-starburst stellar populations(
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1206.1686