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We study the dynamics of galaxy mergers, with emphasis on the gas feeding ofnuclear regions, using a suite of hydrodynamical simulations of galaxyencounters. The high spatial and temporal resolution of the simulations allowsus to not only recover the standard picture of tidal-torque induced inflows,but also to detail another, important feeding path produced by ram pressure.The induced shocks effectively decouple the dynamics of the gas from that ofthe stars, greatly enhancing the loss of gas angular momentum and leading toincreased central inflows. The ram-pressure shocks also cause, in many cases,the entire galactic gas disc of the smaller galaxy to abruptly change itsdirection of rotation, causing a complete "flip" and, several $10^8$ yr later,a subsequent "counter-flip". This phenomenon results in the existence oflong-lived decoupled gas-stellar and stellar-stellar discs, which could hint ata new explanation for the origin of some of the observed kinematicallydecoupled cores/counter-rotating discs. Lastly, we speculate, in the case ofnon-coplanar mergers, on the possible existence of a new class of remnantsystems similar to some of the observed X-shaped radio galaxies.

Shocks and angular momentum flips: a different path to feeding the nuclear regions of merging galaxies