Are ring galaxies the ancestors of giant low surface brightness galaxies?

TL;DR

This paper proposes that giant low surface brightness galaxies (GLSBs) may originate from the evolution of collisional ring galaxies, supported by simulations showing their properties match observed GLSBs after certain timeframes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel evolutionary pathway linking ring galaxies to GLSBs, supported by simulations demonstrating this transformation.

Findings

Simulations show GLSBs can form 0.5-1.5 Gyr after ring galaxy collisions.

Simulated galaxies match observed GLSB properties in surface brightness, morphology, and rotation curves.

Ring galaxies evolve into large, flat discs resembling GLSBs.

Abstract

Giant low surface brightness galaxies (GLSBs), such as Malin 1, have unusually large and flat discs. Their formation is a puzzle for cosmological simulations in the cold dark matter scenario. We suggest that GLSBs might be the final product of the dynamical evolution of collisional ring galaxies. In fact, our simulations show that, approximately 0.5-1.5 Gyr after the collision which lead to the formation of a ring galaxy, the ring keeps expanding and fades, while the disc becomes very large (~100 kpc) and flat. At this stage, our simulated galaxies match many properties of GLSBs (surface brightness profile, morphology, HI spectrum and rotation curve).