Close Pairs of Galaxies: Merger and Mass Accretion Rate Evolution at High Redshift
Abstract
Galaxy mergers and interactions are an integral part of the paradigm describing the formation and evolution of galaxies. In particular, mergers at high redshift provide convincing evidence of the heirarchical assembly of galaxies. Characterising galaxy mergers and in turn the merger rate evolution can directly test models describing how galaxies evolve and how structures are formed in the Universe. One of the most promising measures of the galaxy merger rate is the evolution in the population of close pairs. Currently this measurement is highly uncertain, and strongly debated. I will discuss our current understanding of the merger rate evolution and why it is important to study. I will then show how my thesis work, which involves the CFHT Legacy Survey and LCIR Survey, will measure close pairs in the redshift range 0.5 < z < 3.0, which is at the very peak period of galaxy formation.
- Publication:
-
Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
- Pub Date:
- August 2005
- Bibcode:
- 2005JRASC..99U.134B