GALAXY SHREDDING .1. CENTAURUS-A, NGC-5237, AND THE FOURCADE FIGUEROA SHRED

Galaxy shredding occurs when a spiral galaxy undergoes a strong prograde interaction with a massive galaxy. The fragile disc of the spiral galaxy is disrupted (shredded) during the encounter and the massive galaxy captures up to half of the disc material. The rest is ejected from the system as a non-rotating shred of dusty, gas-rich disc material which appears as a blue irregular/starburst galaxy. The robust bulge of the spiral progenitor is relatively undisturbed by the encounter and emerges from the shredding episode as a dwarf elliptical galaxy. Numerical simulations are presented together with a case study of the nearby active galaxy Centaurus A.