The Structure and Interaction History of Moderate Luminosity Mergers

Abstract

Interaction and merging are the two most important driving forces of galaxy evolution. In contrast to the well studied major mergers of two large gas-rich disk galaxies, which may lead to Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs, LFIR>1012 L⊙), mergers between galaxies of unequal mass or a spiral and an elliptical (S+E mergers) are still poorly understood. These moderate luminosity mergers typically have LFIR > 1011 L⊙. Here, we present the results of our multiwavelength study of a sample of such kind of mergers, including interferometric HI and single-dish CO observations, optical and near-infrared imaging as well as optical spectroscopy.