Galaxy Zoo: The properties of merging galaxies in the nearby Universe - local environments, colours, masses, star-formation rates and AGN activity
Following the study of Darg et al. (2009; hereafter D09a) we explore the environments, optical colours, stellar masses, star formation and AGN activity in a sample of 3003 pairs of merging galaxies drawn from the SDSS using visual classifications from the Galaxy Zoo project. While D09a found that th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
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2009
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| _version_ | 1826286984711110656 |
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| author | Darg, D Kaviraj, S Lintott, C Schawinski, K Sarzi, M Bamford, S Silk, J Andreescu, D Murray, P Nichol, R Raddick, M Slosar, A Szalay, A Thomas, D Vandenberg, J |
| author_facet | Darg, D Kaviraj, S Lintott, C Schawinski, K Sarzi, M Bamford, S Silk, J Andreescu, D Murray, P Nichol, R Raddick, M Slosar, A Szalay, A Thomas, D Vandenberg, J |
| author_sort | Darg, D |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Following the study of Darg et al. (2009; hereafter D09a) we explore the environments, optical colours, stellar masses, star formation and AGN activity in a sample of 3003 pairs of merging galaxies drawn from the SDSS using visual classifications from the Galaxy Zoo project. While D09a found that the spiral-to-elliptical ratio in (major) mergers appeared higher than that of the global galaxy population, no significant differences are found between the environmental distributions of mergers and a randomly selected control sample. This makes the high occurrence of spirals in mergers unlikely to be an environmental effect and must, therefore, arise from differing time-scales of detectability for spirals and ellipticals. We find that merging galaxies have a wider spread in colour than the global galaxy population, with a significant blue tail resulting from intense star formation in spiral mergers. Galaxies classed as star-forming using their emission-line properties have average star-formation rates approximately doubled by the merger process though star formation is negligibly enhanced in merging elliptical galaxies. We conclude that the internal properties of galaxies significantly affect the time-scales over which merging systems can be detected (as suggested by recent theoretical studies) which leads to spirals being `over-observed' in mergers. We also suggest that the transition mass $3\times10^{10}{M}_{\astrosun}$, noted by \citet{kauffmann1}, below which ellipticals are rare could be linked to disc survival/destruction in mergers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:51:49Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:9a5940ff-0237-49a5-b489-053b464c9a05 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:51:49Z |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:9a5940ff-0237-49a5-b489-053b464c9a052022-03-27T00:20:45ZGalaxy Zoo: The properties of merging galaxies in the nearby Universe - local environments, colours, masses, star-formation rates and AGN activityJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:9a5940ff-0237-49a5-b489-053b464c9a05Symplectic Elements at Oxford2009Darg, DKaviraj, SLintott, CSchawinski, KSarzi, MBamford, SSilk, JAndreescu, DMurray, PNichol, RRaddick, MSlosar, ASzalay, AThomas, DVandenberg, JFollowing the study of Darg et al. (2009; hereafter D09a) we explore the environments, optical colours, stellar masses, star formation and AGN activity in a sample of 3003 pairs of merging galaxies drawn from the SDSS using visual classifications from the Galaxy Zoo project. While D09a found that the spiral-to-elliptical ratio in (major) mergers appeared higher than that of the global galaxy population, no significant differences are found between the environmental distributions of mergers and a randomly selected control sample. This makes the high occurrence of spirals in mergers unlikely to be an environmental effect and must, therefore, arise from differing time-scales of detectability for spirals and ellipticals. We find that merging galaxies have a wider spread in colour than the global galaxy population, with a significant blue tail resulting from intense star formation in spiral mergers. Galaxies classed as star-forming using their emission-line properties have average star-formation rates approximately doubled by the merger process though star formation is negligibly enhanced in merging elliptical galaxies. We conclude that the internal properties of galaxies significantly affect the time-scales over which merging systems can be detected (as suggested by recent theoretical studies) which leads to spirals being `over-observed' in mergers. We also suggest that the transition mass $3\times10^{10}{M}_{\astrosun}$, noted by \citet{kauffmann1}, below which ellipticals are rare could be linked to disc survival/destruction in mergers. |
| spellingShingle | Darg, D Kaviraj, S Lintott, C Schawinski, K Sarzi, M Bamford, S Silk, J Andreescu, D Murray, P Nichol, R Raddick, M Slosar, A Szalay, A Thomas, D Vandenberg, J Galaxy Zoo: The properties of merging galaxies in the nearby Universe - local environments, colours, masses, star-formation rates and AGN activity |
| title | Galaxy Zoo: The properties of merging galaxies in the nearby Universe -
local environments, colours, masses, star-formation rates and AGN activity |
| title_full | Galaxy Zoo: The properties of merging galaxies in the nearby Universe -
local environments, colours, masses, star-formation rates and AGN activity |
| title_fullStr | Galaxy Zoo: The properties of merging galaxies in the nearby Universe -
local environments, colours, masses, star-formation rates and AGN activity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Galaxy Zoo: The properties of merging galaxies in the nearby Universe -
local environments, colours, masses, star-formation rates and AGN activity |
| title_short | Galaxy Zoo: The properties of merging galaxies in the nearby Universe -
local environments, colours, masses, star-formation rates and AGN activity |
| title_sort | galaxy zoo the properties of merging galaxies in the nearby universe local environments colours masses star formation rates and agn activity |
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