A First Look at Galaxy Flyby Interactions. II. Do Flybys matter?
Manodeep Sinha, Kelly Holley-Bockelmann

TL;DR
This study uses cosmological simulations to analyze galaxy flyby interactions, revealing their frequency, orbital characteristics, and potential to influence galaxy evolution, especially at lower redshifts.
Contribution
It provides a detailed classification and impact assessment of galaxy flybys, highlighting their frequent occurrence and potential role in galaxy transformation.
Findings
Flybys occur more frequently than previously thought, especially at low redshift.
Most flybys penetrate deeply and have significant relative velocities.
Flybys can cause notable perturbations, influencing galaxy evolution.
Abstract
In the second paper of this series, we present results from cosmological simulations on the demographics of flyby interactions to gauge their potential impact on galaxy evolution. In a previous paper, we demonstrated that flybys -- an interaction where two independent halos inter-penetrate but detach at a later time and do not merge -- occur much more frequently than previously believed. In particular, we found that the frequency of flybys increases at low redshift and is comparable to or even greater than the frequency of mergers for halos . In this paper, we classify flybys according to their orbits and the level of perturbation exacted on both the halos involved. We find that the majority of flybys penetrate deeper than of the primary and have an initial relative speed of the primary. The typical flyby mass-ratio is…
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Taxonomy
TopicsStellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Astronomy and Astrophysical Research · Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation
