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Title: The impact of galaxy mergers on the assembly of the thick and thin disks
Speaker: Dr. Florent Renaud / CNRS/Strasbourg Observatory (France)
Date & Time: 2025-12-16, 4:00 PM
Location: Science Hall 638
Talk to be delivered in English
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Abstract: Interactions and mergers play a central role in the build-up of galaxies. Until recently, major mergers were considered as an inevitable pathway to form elliptical galaxies. This vision has now been revised, notably by studies combining detailed spectroscopic and astrometric surveys of the Milky Way with a series of simulations trying to explain the morphological, dynamical, and chemical structure of our Galaxy. In this talk, I will propose a holistic scenario for the formation of a Milky Way-like galaxy. I will explain the role of mergers and the associated starburst events in the build-up of stellar populations and their chemical signatures. I will show how mergers are a fundamental ingredient in the formation of the thick and thin disks of Milky Way-like galaxies. I will also present the role of the intrinsic evolution of the galaxy, and why distinguishing it from environmental effects is both challenging and crucial for our understanding of galaxy evolution, well beyond the Milky Way, and across cosmic time.
