Dynamics and Shocks from H$\alpha$ Emission of Nearby Galaxy Mergers
  We examine the dynamical properties of interacting galaxies and the
properties of shocked gas produced as a result of the interaction. We observed
22 galaxy mergers using the SparsePak IFU at Kitt Peak National Observatory
(KPNO). The goal of the observations was to obtain the \ha\ velocity maps over
the entire luminous parts of the galaxies including the faint tidal tails and
to find extended shocks and outflows. Our sample consists of major and minor
galaxy mergers with mass ratios $1<\mu<8$. We fit multiple kinematic components
to the \ha\ and \nii\ emission lines, develop an MCMC code to robustly estimate
the error of fit parameters, and use the F-test to determine the best number of
kinematic components for each fiber. We use \nii/\ha\ and velocity dispersion
of components to separate star-forming (HII) regions from shocks. We use the
kinematics of the \ha\ emission from HII regions and an automated modeling
method to put the first-ever constraints on the encounter parameters of one of
the observed systems. Besides, we roughly estimate the fraction of shocked \ha\
emission , $\text{f}_\text{shocked}$, without taking extinction into account
and examine the spatial distribution of shocks. We find that close galaxy pairs
have, on average, a higher shock fraction than wide pairs, and coalesced
mergers have the highest average $\text{f}_\text{shocked}$. In addition, galaxy
pairs with more equal mass ratio tend to have a higher
$\text{f}_\text{shocked}$. Combining the dynamical models from the literature
and this work, we inspect trends between $\text{f}_\text{shocked}$ and
dynamical encounter parameters. Our findings are generally consistent with
shocks being produced either by the direct collision of the ISM or by the chain
of events provoked by the tidal impulse during the first passage.
