Identikit 1: A Modeling Tool for Interacting Disk Galaxies

TL;DR

This paper introduces Identikit 1, a modeling tool that combines test-particle and self-consistent methods to efficiently explore and reproduce the observed features of interacting disk galaxies, aiding in understanding galactic encounters.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel interactive graphics tool that rapidly explores galactic encounter parameters using combined modeling techniques, improving the accuracy of reproducing observed galaxy interactions.

Findings

Successfully reproduces morphology and kinematics in artificial data-set

Good parameter constraints achieved through matching observed features

Method is efficient for exploring galactic encounter scenarios

Abstract

By combining test-particle and self-consistent techniques, we have developed a method to rapidly explore the parameter space of galactic encounters. Our method, implemented in an interactive graphics program, can be used to find the parameters required to reproduce the observed morphology and kinematics of interacting disk galaxies. We test this system on an artificial data-set of 36 equal-mass merging encounters, and show that it is usually possible to reproduce the morphology and kinematics of these encounters and that a good match strongly constrains the encounter parameters.