From mergers to post-mergers: a complete view of the galaxy interaction sequence
Sara Ellison (University of Victoria)
Galaxy-galaxy interactions are responsible for potentially dramatic changes in morphology, star formation rate, metallicity and black hole accretion rate. However, the magnitude of these changes is expected to vary during an interaction, with theoretical predictions that the biggest changes may occur after final coalescence. By combining a large sample of spectroscopically selected galaxy pairs from SDSS with a Galaxy Zoo post-merger sample, I will present the first observational study of the changes experienced by galaxies throughout the interaction sequence. I will also present a comparison with high resolution simulated galaxy mergers in order to provide an interpretive framework for the observations.