BAR FORMATION FROM GALAXY FLYBYS

Recently, both simulations and observations have revealed that flybys-fast, one-time interactions between two galaxy halos-are surprisingly common, nearing/comparable to galaxy mergers. Since these are rapid, transient events with the closest approach well outside the galaxy disk, it is unclear if flybys can transform the galaxy in a lasting way. We conduct collisionless N-body simulations of three coplanar flyby interactions between pure-disk galaxies to take a first look at the effects flybys have on disk structure, with particular focus on stellar bar formation. We find that some flybys are capable of inciting a bar with bars forming in both galaxies during our 1: 1 interaction and in the secondary during our 10: 1 interaction. The bars formed have ellipticities greater than or similar to 0.5, sizes on the order of the host disk's scale length, and persist to the end of our simulations, similar to 5 Gyr after pericenter. The ability of flybys to incite bar formation implies that many processes associated with secular bar evolution may be more closely tied with interactions than previously thought.