Tidal Dwarf Galaxies, Accretion Tails, and `Beads on a String' in the `Spirals, Bridges, and Tails' Interacting Galaxy Survey

TL;DR

This study uses GALEX ultraviolet and Sloan optical data to analyze star formation and stellar populations in interacting galaxy pairs, identifying new tidal dwarf galaxy candidates and various tidal feature morphologies.

Contribution

It combines UV and optical imaging to characterize tidal features and discover new tidal dwarf galaxy candidates in pre-merger galaxy interactions.

Findings

Identification of new tidal dwarf galaxy candidates

Detection of diverse tidal feature morphologies

Most tidal features are also visible in HI maps

Abstract

We have used the GALEX ultraviolet telescope to study stellar populations and star formation morphology in a well-defined sample of more than three dozen nearby optically-selected pre-merger interacting galaxy pairs. We have combined the GALEX NUV and FUV images with broadband optical maps from the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey to investigate the ages and extinctions of the tidal features and the disks. We have identified a few new candidate tidal dwarf galaxies in this sample, as well as other interesting morphologies such as accretion tails, `beads on a string', and `hinge clumps'. In only a few cases are strong tidal features seen in HI maps but not in GALEX.