The authors present numerical experiments on dynamical friction in pairs of elliptical galaxies of unequal mass. They confirm that the self-gravity of the response is not important and show the drastic effect of the deformability of the companion which reduces the decay time by more than a factor of 2. Almost the same amount of orbital energy is dissipated within the satellite as within the large galaxy. Finally, the authors discuss the importance of distant encounters for the dynamical evolution of systems of galaxies.
Document ID: 19910007620. Accession ID: 91N16933. NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Paired and Interacting Galaxies: International Astronomical Union Colloquium No. 124; p 543-548.
