Résumé / Abstract Seminaire_IAP
« The morphological transformation of galaxies and the puzzling origin of ellipticals »

Andreas Burkert
Dept. Theoretische Physik, Univ. München (Munich, Allemagne)

Within the standard cosmological cold dark matter paradigm galaxies form and grow by mergers of smaller substructures. While disk galaxies are believed to result from smooth gas infall into dark matter halos, elliptical galaxies are generally assumed to form by major mergers of disk galaxies. Recent observations however show that ellipticals are much more complex than previously assumed with global properties that appear to be in contradiction with the major merger scenario and in good agreement with the accretion of many small substructures. In addition, numerical simulations of disk galaxy formation encounter a so called angular momentum problem that might be solved by a combination of substantial energetic feedback in combination with major mergers of gas-rich progenitors.
vendredi 28 novembre 2008 - 11:00
Salle des séminaires Évry Schatzman, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
Page web du séminaire / Seminar's webpage