How Do Galaxies Form?

TL;DR

This paper discusses the formation of galaxies, highlighting that despite multiple influencing factors, galaxy properties are primarily determined by mass, suggesting a simplified underlying relationship.

Contribution

It reveals that galaxy properties form an almost one-parameter family dominated by mass, challenging the expectation of multiple independent influences.

Findings

Galaxy properties primarily depend on mass.

Other factors like merger history and environment have lesser influence.

Galaxies form an almost one-parameter family.

Abstract

It is currently believed that galaxies were assembled via chaotic hierarchical mergers between massive cold dark matter halos, in which baryonic star forming matter was embedded. One would therefore expect the properties of individual galaxies to be determined by numerous independent factors such as star forming history, merger history, mass, angular momentum, size and environment. It is therefore surprising to find that galaxies actually appear to form an (almost) one parameter family in which galaxy mass is the dominant factor.