NGC 5523: An Isolated Product of Soft Galaxy Mergers?
  Multi-band images of the very isolated spiral galaxy NGC 5523 show a number
of unusual features consistent with NGC 5523 having experienced a significant
merger: (1) Near-infrared (NIR) images from the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
and the WIYN 3.5-m telescope reveal a nucleated bulge-like structure embedded
in a spiral disk. (2) The bulge is offset by ~1.8 kpc from a brightness minimum
at the center of the optically bright inner disk. (3) A tidal stream, possibly
associated with an ongoing satellite interaction, extends from the nucleated
bulge along the disk. We interpret these properties as the results of one or
more non-disruptive mergers between NGC 5523 and companion galaxies or
satellites, raising the possibility that some galaxies become isolated because
they have merged with former companions.
