The stellar mass assembly of galaxies in the Illustris simulation:
  growth by mergers and the spatial distribution of accreted stars
  We use the Illustris simulation to study the relative contributions of in
situ star formation and stellar accretion to the build-up of galaxies over an
unprecedentedly wide range of masses ($M_{\ast} = 10^9-10^{12} \, {\rm
M_{\odot}}$), galaxy types, environments, and assembly histories. We find that
the `two-phase' picture of galaxy formation predicted by some models is a good
approximation only for the most massive galaxies in our simulation -- namely,
the stellar mass growth of galaxies below a few times $10^{11} \, {\rm
M_{\odot}}$ is dominated by in situ star formation at all redshifts. The
fraction of the total stellar mass of galaxies at $z=0$ contributed by accreted
stars shows a strong dependence on galaxy stellar mass, ranging from about 10
per cent for Milky Way-sized galaxies to over 80 per cent for $M_{\ast} \approx
10^{12} \, {\rm M_{\odot}}$ objects, yet with a large galaxy-to-galaxy
variation. At a fixed stellar mass, elliptical galaxies and those formed at the
centres of younger haloes exhibit larger fractions of ex situ stars than
disc-like galaxies and those formed in older haloes. On average, $\sim$50 per
cent of the ex situ stellar mass comes from major mergers (stellar mass ratio
$\mu > 1/4$), $\sim$20 per cent from minor mergers ($1/10 < \mu < 1/4$),
$\sim$20 per cent from very minor mergers ($\mu < 1/10$), and $\sim$10 per cent
from stars that were stripped from surviving galaxies (e.g. flybys or ongoing
mergers). These components are spatially segregated, with in situ stars
dominating the innermost regions of galaxies, and ex situ stars being deposited
at larger galactocentric distances in order of decreasing merger mass ratio.
