This study investigates the molecular hydrogen (H2) content in galaxy mergers, focusing on its spatial distribution and its impact on star formation. We have updated the GADGET3 code to include detailed chemical enrichment from SNII, SNIa (implemented different delay-time distribution schemes) and AGB stars, and have integrated the KROME chemical package mainly to model H2 formation. This improves the representation of thermal and radiative processes in the simulations, and also allows us to incorporate into our star formation model a dependence on measurements of the H2 content in real time, which in turn depends on the local stellar radiation field and its attenuation.

Galaxy mergers are known to be crucial events in galaxy evolution, often triggering significant changes in their structure and star formation activities. By analyzing a sample of galaxies across different stages of the merging process, we aim to understand how the H2 content varies and redistributes during these interactions, and how correlates it with star formation rates and efficiencies. Our results show that a significant fraction of H2 is located in dense and turbulent regions where the interstellar medium is significantly disturbed by tidal forces. These regions can be found along tidal tails and/or bridges, which show high rates of star formation. Furthermore, we observe that the overall abundance of H2 in merging systems tends to be higher than in isolated galaxies; however, such H2 content and star formation efficiency can vary considerably, influenced by the merger stage.