2026ApJ..1000..161C

Bars are among the most prominent galactic structures, yet their formation mechanisms remain incompletely understood. They can form either internally, via dynamical instabilities, or externally, triggered by interactions with other galaxies. The impact of mergers on bar formation and survival, however, has not been thoroughly investigated. To explore the influence of mergers on bars, we construct a suite of N-body merger pairs where a Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus-like radially biased satellite disk galaxy merges with a central disk galaxy during its bar formation. With the central galaxy fixed, the satellite varies in merger parameters: the mass ratio m/M relative to the central galaxy, the impact parameter b, and the orbital inclination angle θ_i relative to the central disk. We find that the bar survival probability decreases with increasing m/M. Mergers with m/M ≲ 1/10 generally preserve the forming bar, whereas those with m/M ≥ 1/2 tend to destroy it, producing more early-type-like remnants. For intermediate mass ratios (1/5 ≤ m/M ≤ 1/3), several models yield “weakening bars,” in which the bar survives the merger but gradually decays during subsequent secular evolution, possibly due to interactions between nested double bars formed from merger debris. In contrast to m/M, b and θ_i have only secondary and stochastic effects on bar survival. The different influences of these three merger parameters can be naturally explained by the tidal force exerted by the satellite on the forming bar, which tends to weaken the bar when the satellite crosses it nearly perpendicular to its major axis.