Hydrodynamics of high-redshift galaxy collisions: From gas-rich disks to dispersion-dominated mergers and compact spheroids

Understand

Disk galaxies at high redshift (z~2) are characterized by high fractions of cold gas, strong turbulence, and giant star-forming clumps.

• Major mergers of disk galaxies at high redshift should then generally involve such turbulent clumpy disks.
• Merger simulations, however, model the ISM as a stable, homogeneous, and thermally pressurized medium.
• We present the first merger simulations with high fractions of cold, turbulent, and clumpy gas.