Merger Driven Explosive Evolution of Distant Galaxies (Minor Mergers)

Authors :: Kats, A. V.
Kontorovich, V. M.
Source :: Astrophysical Bulletin, 2013, Volume 68, Issue 3, Page 273
Publication Year :: 2013
Abstract: We derived solutions for the Smoluchowski kinetic equation for the mass function of galaxies, which describes mergers in differential approximation, where mergers with low-mass galaxies are the dominant factor. The evolution of the initial distribution is analyzed as well as the influence of the source represented by galaxies (halos) that separate from the global cosmological expansion. It is shown that the evolution of the slope of the power-law part of the luminosity function at a constant mass-to-luminosity ratio observed in the Ultra Deep Hubble Field can be described as a result of explosive evolution driven by galaxy mergers. In this case the exponent depends exclusively on the uniformity degree of merger probability as a function of mass.<br />Comment: 25 pages, 5 Postscript figures; The Report on the International Conference "Astroparticle Physics, Gravitation and Cosmology", Kyiv, Ukraine, 2012. Book of Abstracts, p. 14. Published in Astrophysical Bulletin, 2013, Volume 68, Issue 3