Tidal dwarf galaxies as laboratories of star formation and cosmology

Abstract

Star formation may take place in a variety of locations in interacting systems: in the dense core of mergers, in the shock regions at the interface of the colliding galaxies and even within the tidal debris expelled into the intergalactic medium. Along tidal tails, objects may be formed with masses ranging from those of super-star clusters to dwarf galaxies: the so-called Tidal Dwarf Galaxies (TDGs). Based on a set of multi-wavelength observations and extensive numerical simulations, we show how TDGs may simultaneously be used as laboratories to study the process of star-formation (SFE, IMF) in a specific environment and as probes of various cosmological properties, such as the distribution of dark matter and satellites around galaxies. © 2007 International Astronomical Union.