Speaker
Description
Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) host galaxies are known to exhibit distinct characteristics, such as high central stellar concentration and an overrepresentation in E+A (post-starburst) galaxies, which has led to the hypothesis that recent merger events may play a significant role in their evolution. However, the underlying mechanisms driving these characteristics remain unclear. This study investigates TDE host galaxies using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) catalog and high-resolution images from the Canada-France Imaging Survey, focusing on their morphological properties and merger indicators. By comparing TDE host galaxies with carefully matched control galaxies, we confirm their elevated central concentration but find no evidence of enhanced post-merger activity, as inferred from both their image morphology and convolutional neural network predictions of post-merger features. Instead, we identify a significantly higher fraction of barred and ring structures in TDE host galaxies, particularly within the green valley population. These findings challenge the conventional assumption that recent mergers are the primary driver of central stellar density buildup in TDE host galaxies. Hence, we propose that the presence of bars may serve as an alternative mechanism, facilitating the transport of stellar material to the galactic center and enhancing the central concentration for TDE host galaxies.