Catching spiral - S0 transition in groups. Insights from SPH simulations with chemo-photometric implementation

The merging of two halos with mass ratio 2:1, initially just composed of DM and gas, well match their observed SEDs, their surface brightness profiles and their overall kinematics. The residual star formation today “rejuvenating” the ring/arm like structures in these S0s is then a mere consequence of a major merger, i.e. this is a phase during the merger episode. The peculiar kinematical features, e.g. gas-stars counter rotation in NGC 3626, depends on the halos initial impact parameters. Furthermore, our simulations allow to follow, in a fully consistent way, the transition of these S0s through the green valley in the NUV-r vs. Mr colour magnitude diagram, which they cross in about 3-5 Gyrs, before reaching their current position in the red sequence. We conclude that a viable mechanism driving the evolution of S0s in groups is of gravitational origin.