Galaxies

Françoise Combes is a Professor at Collège de France on the Chair of Galaxies and Cosmology. She is a specialist of galaxy evolution through bars and spiral waves, and has uncovered dynamical mechanisms to fuel central black holes in active galaxy nuclei.

• Introduction xiChapter 1. The Classification of Galaxies 1Ronald BUTA1.1. Introduction 11.2. Classes of galaxies 31.3. Elliptical galaxies 71.4. Spiral galaxies 121.5. S0 galaxies 221.6. Magellanic spiral and irregular galaxies 251.7. Dwarf elliptical, S0, and spheroidal galaxies 261.8. Edge-on galaxies 271.9. Morphology of interacting and merging galaxies 301.10. General properties along the CVRHS sequence 311.10.1. Morphological systematics 311.10.2. Astrophysical systematics 331.11. Other approaches to galaxy classification 341.12. Interpretations of morphology 351.13. Artificial galaxies and the future of galaxy classification 421.14. References 44Chapter 2. Our Galaxy, the Milky Way 49Paola Di MATTEO2.1. Introduction 492.2. Baryonic discs and their spiral structure 522.2.1. Neutral, ionized and molecular gas 522.2.2. Thin and thick stellar discs 542.2.3. Spiral structure from gaseous and stellar tracers 592.3. The central kiloparsecs: the bar and the bulge 602.4. The stellar halo 632.5. On the dark matter content and shape, as inferred from rotation curves and stellar streams 672.6. Dissecting the global structure: stellar kinematics, abundances and ages 692.6.1. Setting the scene: the solar vicinity 702.6.2. Zooming out on a several kpc scale 762.6.3. Digging into the bulge 802.7. Reconstructing the Milky Way evolution 842.8. Perspectives 862.9. References 86Chapter 3. Early-type Galaxies 93Eric EMSELLEM3.1. Introduction 933.2. General properties: components and morphology 953.2.1. Discs and bars 963.2.2. Gas and dust content 963.2.3. Dark matter and halo 973.2.4. Globular clusters 993.2.5. Light and mass profiles 993.2.6. Extreme cases: brightest cluster galaxies and ultra-diffuse galaxies 1003.3. Zoom on the stellar component 1013.3.1. Scaling relations: Faber–Jackson, fundamental plane and virial plane 1023.3.2. Age and metallicity 1043.3.3. Initial mass function 1053.4. Dynamics of ETGs 1083.4.1. Observations 1093.4.2. Toward a kinematic classification of ETGs 1103.4.3. Modeling 1133.4.4. Supermassive black holes 1193.5. Formation and evolution processes 1193.5.1. Perspective at z = 0: the mass–radius plane 1193.5.2. Growth, mergers and transformations 1213.5.3. Ex situ versus in situ 1233.5.4. Environment 1243.6. Conclusion 1263.7. References 127Chapter 4. Spiral Galaxies 137Françoise COMBES4.1. Introduction 1374.2. Blue and red galaxies: quenching star formation 1424.2.1. Definition of bimodality 1424.2.2. The parameters that determine the red sequence 1464.2.3. Mechanisms for quenching star formation 1484.3. Spiral galaxies: density waves or not? 1524.3.1. The winding problem 1524.3.2. The theory of density waves 1554.3.3. Role of gas and star formation 1594.4. Bars: drivers of evolution 1604.4.1. Formation of bars 1624.4.2. Orbits in a barred galaxy 1644.4.3. Response of gas to a barred potential 1664.4.4. Vertical resonances and peanuts 1684.4.5. Dark matter and bars 1714.5. Environment of spiral galaxies 1734.5.1. Morphological segregation 1734.5.2. The problem of bulgeless galaxies 1744.6. Conclusion 1764.7. References 177Chapter 5. Galaxy Mergers and Interactions through Cosmic Time 181Christopher J. CONSELICE5.1. Introduction 1825.2. The physics of merging 1855.3. The merger history of galaxies 1885.3.1. Defining mergers and merging 1885.3.2. Merger rates in the nearby universe 1905.3.3. Galaxy merger fraction evolution to z = 6 1915.3.4. Galaxy merger rates 1965.4. The added value of mergers 1995.4.1. Galaxy and black hole assembly through interactions and mergers 1995.4.2. Cosmological relevance 2015.4.3. Future uses and methods 2025.5. Summary 2035.6. Acknowledgments 2045.7. References 205Chapter 6. Cosmic Evolution of Galaxies 209David ELBAZ and Emeric Le FLOC’H6.1. Introduction 2096.2. Characteristics of galaxies used to define their cosmic evolution 2116.2.1. Decoding multi-wavelength radiation 2116.2.2. Populations of galaxies 2166.3. Starbursts, secular evolution and universality of star formation 2186.3.1. Definition of a starburst 2186.3.2. The SFMS and the secular evolution of galaxies 2206.3.3. Origin of starbursts 2216.3.4. Secular evolution and the influence of the galactic environment 2236.4. Detection of distant galaxies 2256.4.1. Deep surveys of the Universe 2276.4.2. Large samples of distant galaxies 2296.4.3. K correction 2326.5. Cosmic history of galaxies 2346.5.1. History of star formation 2346.5.2. Evolution of the stellar mass function and formation of the red galaxy sequence 2376.5.3. Evolution of the metallicity and of the average size of galaxies 2396.5.4. Evolution of the galaxy merger and starburst rates 2416.6. Origin of the cosmic history of galaxies 2446.6.1. The diffuse cosmic background as a signature of the cosmic history of galaxies 2456.6.2. Unraveling the origin of the cosmic history of galaxies by studying their reservoirs of interstellar matter 2496.7. Conclusion 2516.8. References 252List of Authors 257Author Biographies 259Index 261