Ancient and Recent Galaxy Mergers

碰撞和合并似乎在决定当今星系的形状和动力学方面发挥了重要作用。一些合并仍在发生，为了解过去的进化过程提供了有价值的线索。由于在早期类型的星系中发现了波纹、尾巴、X结构和奇怪的旋转核心等合并特征，确定古代合并的时间已经成为可能。在这项拨款中进行的研究将是一个旨在研究星系碰撞和合并过程的观测研究计划。首席调查员被认为是这一研究领域的世界领导者。

Collisions and mergers seem to have played a major role in determining the shapes and dynamics of present-day galaxies. A few mergers are still occurring and offer valuable clues to past evolutionary processes. Dating ancient mergers has become feasible because of the discovery of merger signatures such as ripples, tails, X-structures, and oddly rotating cores in earlytype galaxies. The research to be carried out in this grant will be a program of observational research aimed at studying the process of collisions and mergers of galaxies. The Principal Investigator is regarded as a world leader in this research area.