Rings of star formation: Imprints of a close galaxy encounter

Abstract

In this talk, I report results from galaxy merger simulations, which suggest the existence of a ring of star formation produced by close galaxy encounters. This is a generic feature of all galaxy interactions, provided that the disc spins are sufficiently aligned. This signature can be used to identify close galaxy pairs that have actually suffered a close interaction.

4 pages, 2 figures, To appear in IAU Symposium No. 309, "Galaxies in 3D across the Universe", B. L. Ziegler, F. Combes, H. Dannerbauer, M. Verdugo, Eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press)