Studying the kinematic asymmetries of disks and post-coalescence mergers
  using a new `kinemetry' criterion
  We have obtained VIMOS/VLT optical integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data for
a sample of 4 LIRGs which have been selected at a similar distance ($\sim$ 70
Mpc) to avoid relative resolution effects. They have been classified in two
groups (isolated disk and post-coalescence mergers) according to their
morphology. The $kinemetry$ method (developed by Krajnovic and coworkers) is
used to characterize the kinematic properties of these galaxies and to discuss
new criteria for distinguishing their status. We present and discuss new
kinematic maps (i.e., velocity field and velocity dispersion) for these four
galaxies. The morphological and kinematic classifications of these systems are
consistent, with disks having lower kinematic asymmetries than post-coalescence
mergers. We then propose and discuss a new kinematic criterion to differentiate
these two groups. This criterion distinguishes better these two categories and
has the advantage of being less sensitive to angular resolution effects.
According to the previous criteria,the present post-coalescence systems would
have been classified as disks. This indicates that the separation of disks from
mergers is subjective to the definition of `merger'. It also suggests that
previous estimates of the merger/disk ratio could have been underestimated, but
larger samples are necessary to establish a firmer conclusion.
