The Collision of Elliptical Galaxies: A Surprising and Promising Event

[TrickyDicky]

What would be the outcome of an elliptical medium size galaxy colliding with a dwarf elliptical? (I choose a dwarf elliptical basically because they are the most frequent type overall)
Has this been computer-modeled? Is it thought to be a common type of collision? Any reference would be of great help.

 

[kamenjar]

From general knowledge:
- Since there's little dust in them nothing would spark star formation.
- Stars would just swing around each other and some would be thrown out into "space". Some would collide, but that's not a common thing in any merger.
- Central black holes would just continue to orbit around each other, though it would be interesting if they were to get a close orbit. They would probably get a lot of mass from each other's dense star formations near the core and spark a big energy discharge which would (maybe?) produce some interstellar gas...

Why the question though. 2 ellipticals doesn't sound like an interesting event.

 

[TrickyDicky]

From general knowledge:
- Since there's little dust in them nothing would spark star formation.
- Stars would just swing around each other and some would be thrown out into "space". Some would collide, but that's not a common thing in any merger.
- Central black holes would just continue to orbit around each other, though it would be interesting if they were to get a close orbit. They would probably get a lot of mass from each other's dense star formations near the core and spark a big energy discharge which would (maybe?) produce some interstellar gas...

Why the question though. 2 ellipticals doesn't sound like an interesting event.

Well, sometimes what is thought to be uninteresting is neglected and from there is where surprises may come.
On the other hand, we know so little about galaxy dynamics, formation and evolution that I don't think your supposition is right, any type of collision between galaxies should be considered worth studying, don't you think? Lately I've been reading that ellipticals have more gas and dust than previously thought.
If the first of your points about quantity of gas and dust turns to be wrong, some interesting things could come out of this types of merger besides the common notion that they just make ever bigger ellipticals.
The other 2 points you mention are promising: the violent swing that throws out galactic material into space and the production of more interstellar gas, I wonder if this kind of interaction could even form other types of galaxies like spirals or lenticulars.