Galaxy interactions: mergers, metals and monsters (Sara Ellison, University of Victoria)

Interactions between galaxies represent a fundamental process in the hierarchical growth of structure.  How do these interactions (and subsequent mergers) affect a galaxy's properties?  I will show the results of a study that uses close pairs of galaxies to study the changes in star formation rate, metallicity and activity in the galactic nucleus during galaxy mergers, which all result from gas flows triggered by the interaction.  I will compare the magnitude of these effects to bar-driven gas flows to quantify whether mergers or secular processes dominate in galaxy evolution.