The Contribution of Large-Scale, Galaxy Collision-Induced Shock Waves to Hot Galactic Halos

A number of colliding and merging galaxy systems have been observed to possess halos of hot, diffuse gas. This 10^6 -- 10^7 K material can extend well beyond the optical components of the host galaxies. If liberated, this hot material could be used to populate a hot intragroup or intracluster medium. We have developed a new n-body gravity and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulation code that includes realistic thermal processes in the interstellar medium, including shock heating and radiative cooling mechanisms. This code has been used to trace the production and transport of hot interstellar material from the large-scale shock waves that result from the collisions. Results of these studies are presented, including comparisons with observations of the merging galaxy system Arp 220 at multiple wavelengths, including data taken from the Chandra X-Ray Telescope.