Study o the origin of Hi asymmetries of highly isolated galaxy CIG 96 by means of deep optical and Hi observations

Throughout the years, many studies have addressed the numerous questions raised when trying to understand how the galaxies assemble and evolve. This topic constitutes one of the most studied fields of modern astronomy and, as we expand our knowledge of the different elements of a galaxy and their evolutionary roles, new problems arise. Some of them may be solved with deeper and higher resolution observations that let us detect the fine print of the processes shown in the different evolutionary stages. The Analysis of the interstellar Medium of Isolated GAlaxies project (AMIGA) seeks to provide a better understanding on the formation and evolution of galaxies focusing on those that lie in relatively uninhabited environments in comparison with denser ones, including the field galaxies. AMIGA has been performing a systematic multi−wavelength study of a selected and statistically significant sample of extremely isolated galaxies based on a refined version of the Catalog of Isolated Galaxies (CIG). In absence of companions, the CIG galaxies constitute an ideal laboratory to study secular evolution and. Since the foundation, the AMIGA project has been investigating the internal and environmental processes of these galaxies, as well as the implication in the theories of galaxy formation and evolution. This project constitutes the framework for the present dissertation. Asymmetries in the atomic hydrogen (HI) of galaxies are often caused by the interaction with close companions. The AMIGA project has demonstrated that isolated galaxies show the lowest levels of asymmetry in their HI integrated profiles compared to other samples, even field galaxies. However, some galaxies present high asymmetry ratios whose origins are poorly understood. Aiming to investigate the source of the asymmetries, we selected a sample that consists of 184 isolated galaxies from the CIG catalog. Out of them, the highly isolated galaxy CIG 96 (NGC864) shows a 16% asymmetry level in its HI integrated profile, representing a model case and main ...