How Galaxy Collisions Shape the Universe

Researchers led by Mauro D’Onofrio’ explored how dry mergers—galaxy collisions without new star formation—shape galaxy properties like size, brightness, and mass. Using observational data, advanced simulations, and a simplified model, they found that mergers drive the evolution of galaxy scaling relations over time, especially for massive systems. This study underscores the critical role of mergers in the universe’s structure and evolution.