A family of analytical potential-density pairs for flat galaxies with spheroidal halos is presented. The potential are obtained by means of the sum of two independent terms: a potential associated with a thin disc and a potential associated with a spheroidal halo, which are expressed as appropriated superpositions of products of Legendre functions, in such a way that the model implies a linear relationship between the masses of the thin disc and the spheroidal halo. By taking a particular case for the halo potential, we found that the circular velocity obtained can be adjusted very accurately to the observed rotation curves of some specific galaxies, so that the models are stable against radial and vertical perturbations. Two particular models for the galaxies NGC4389 and UGC6969 are obtained by adjusting the circular velocity with data of the observed rotation curve of some galaxies of the Ursa Mayor Cluster, as reported in Verheijen and Sancisi 2001. The values of the halo mass and the disc mass for these two galaxies are computed obtaining a very narrow interval of values for these quantities. Furthermore, the values of obtained masses are in perfect agreement with the expected order of magnitude and with the relative order of magnitude between the halo mass and the disc mass.
If the gamma-ray excess from the galactic center reported by Fermi-LAT is a signal from annihilating dark matter, one must question why a similar excess has not been observed in dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We use this observation to place constraints on the density profile of dwarf spheroidal galaxies under the assumption that the galactic center excess is in fact a signal from annihilating dark matter. We place constraints on the generalized NFW parameter $γ$ and the Einasto profile parameter $α$ which control the logarithmic slope of the inner regions of the halo's density profile. We determi…
We exploit the detection of three distinct stellar subpopulations in the red giant branch of the Fornax dwarf Spheroidal to probe its density distribution. This allows us to resolve directly the evolution with radius of the dark matter mass profile. We find that a cored dark matter halo provides a perfect fit to the data, being consistent with all three stellar populations well within 1-sigma, and for the first time we are able to put constraints on the core size of such a halo. With respect to previous work, we do not strengthen the statistical exclusion of a dark matter cusp in Fornax, but w…
We investigate the non-spherical density structure of dark halos of the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies in the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies based on revised axisymmetric mass models from our previous work. The models we adopt here fully take into account velocity anisotropy of tracer stars confined within a flattened dark halo. Applying our models to the available kinematic data of the 12 bright dSphs, we find that these galaxies associate with, in general, elongated dark halos, even considering the effect of this velocity anisotropy of stars. We also find that the best-fit parameters, es…
Motivated by a recently found interesting property of the dark halo surface density within a radius, $r_{\rm max}$, giving the maximum circular velocity, $V_{\rm max}$, we investigate it for dark halos of the Milky Way's and Andromeda's dwarf satellites based on cosmological simulations. We select and analyze the simulated subhalos associated with Milky Way-sized dark halos and find that the values of their surface densities, $Σ_{V_{\rm max}}$, are in good agreement with those for the observed dwarf spheroidal satellites even without employing any fitting procedures. This implies that this sur…
Dark matter (DM) halos of Sc-Im and dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies satisfy scaling laws: halos in lower-luminosity galaxies have smaller core radii, higher central densities, and smaller velocity dispersions. These results are based on maximum-disk rotation curve decompositions for giant galaxies and Jeans equation analysis for dwarfs. (1) We show that spiral, Im, and Sph galaxies with absolute magnitudes M_V > -18 form a sequence of decreasing baryon-to-DM surface density with decreasing luminosity. We suggest that this is a sequence of decreasing baryon retention vs. supernova-driven losse…
Ultralight-axion (ULA) dark matter is one of the possible solutions to resolve small-scale problems, especially the core-cusp problem. This is because ULA dark matter can create a central soliton core in all dark matter haloes stemmed from the quantum pressure against gravity below the de Broglie wavelength, which becomes manifest on astrophysical scales with axion mass range $\sim10^{-22}$ eV. In this work, we apply our non-spherical dynamical models to the kinematic data of eight classical dwarf spheroidals (dSphs) to obtain more reliable and realistic limits on ULA particle mass. This is mo…
We examine scaling relations of dispersion-supported galaxies over more than eight orders of magnitude in luminosity by transforming standard fundamental plane parameters into a space of mass (M1/2), radius (r1/2), and luminosity (L1/2). We find that from ultra-faint dwarf spheroidals to giant cluster spheroids, dispersion-supported galaxies scatter about a one-dimensional "fundamental curve" through this MRL space. The weakness of the M1/2-L1/2 slope on the faint end may imply that potential well depth limits galaxy formation in small galaxies, while the stronger dependence on L1/2 on the bri…
Dark matter (DM) halos of Sc-Im galaxies satisfy scaling laws analogous to the fundamental plane relations for elliptical galaxies. Halos in less luminous galaxies have smaller core radii, higher central densities, and smaller central velocity dispersions. If dwarf spheroidal (dSph) and dwarf Magellanic irregular (dIm) galaxies lie on the extrapolations of these correlations, then we can estimate their baryon loss relative to that of brighter Sc-Im galaxies. We find that, if there had been no such enhanced baryon loss, then typical dSph and dIm galaxies would be brighter in absolute magnitude …
We investigate the growth histories of dark matter halos associated with dwarf satellites in Local Group galaxies and the resultant evolution of the baryonic component. Our model is based on the recently proposed property that the mean surface density of a dark halo inside a radius at maximum circular velocity V_max is universal over a large range of V_max. Following that this surface density of 20 Msun/pc^2 well explains dwarf satellites in the Milky Way and Andromeda, we find that the evolution of the dark halo in this common surface-density scale is characterized by the rapid increase of th…
Photometric and spectroscopic observations of the Carina dSph revealed that this galaxy contains two dominant stellar populations of different age and kinematics. The co-existence of multiple populations provides new constraints on the dark halo structure of the galaxy, because different populations should be in equilibrium in the same dark matter potential well. We develop non-spherical dynamical models including such multiple stellar components and attempt to constrain the properties of the non-spherical dark halo of Carina. We find that Carina probably has a larger and denser dark halo than…
We present a new analysis of the Aquarius simulations done in combination with a semi-analytic galaxy formation model. Our goal is to establish whether the subhalos present in LCDM simulations of Milky Way-like systems could host the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellites of our Galaxy. Our analysis shows that, contrary to what has been assumed in most previous work, the mass profiles of subhalos are generally not well fit by NFW models but that Einasto profiles are preferred. We find that for shape parameters alpha = 0.2 - 0.5 and Vmax = 10 - 30 km/s there is very good correspondence with the obs…
A number of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies are known to contain a more extended, metal-poor population with a flattish velocity dispersion profile, and a more concentrated, metal-rich population with a velocity dispersion declining with radius. The two populations can be modelled with Michie-King distribution functions (DFs) in the isothermal and in the sharply truncated limits, respectively. We argue that the truncation of the metal-rich population can be traced back to the spatial distribution of the star forming gas. Suppose D is the exponent of the first non-constant term in the Taylor e…
Kinematic surveys of the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellites of the Milky Way are revealing tantalising hints about the structure of dark matter (DM) haloes at the low-mass end of the galaxy luminosity function. At the bright end, modelling of spiral galaxies has shown that their rotation curves are consistent with the hypothesis of a Universal Rotation Curve whose shape is supported by a cored dark matter halo. In this paper, we investigate whether the internal kinematics of the Milky Way dSphs are consistent with the particular cored DM distributions which reproduce the properties of spiral g…
Gamma-ray experiments seeking to detect evidence of dark matter annihilation in dwarf spheroidal galaxies require knowledge of the distribution of dark matter within these systems. We analyze the effects of flattening on the annihilation (J) and decay (D) factors of dwarf spheroidal galaxies with both analytic and numerical methods. Flattening has two consequences: first, there is a geometric effect as the squeezing (or stretching) of the dark matter distribution enhances (or diminishes) the J-factor; second, the line of sight velocity dispersion of stars must hold up the flattened baryonic co…
In this paper we calculate the potential for a prolate spheroidal distribution as in a dark matter halo with a radially varying eccentricity. This is obtained by summing up the shell-by-shell contributions of isodensity surfaces, which are taken to be concentric and with a common polar axis and with an axis ratio that varies with radius. Interestingly, the constancy of potential inside a shell is shown to be a good approximation even when the isodensity contours are dissimilar spheroids, as long as the radial variation in eccentricity is small as seen in realistic systems. We consider three ca…
We present a resolved-star spectroscopic survey of 15 dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellites of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) as part of the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo (SPLASH) project. We filter foreground contamination from Milky Way (MW) stars, noting that MW substructure is evident in this contaminant sample. We also filter M31 halo field giant stars, and identify the remainder as probable dSph members. We then use these members to determine the kinematical properties of the dSphs. For the first time, we confirm that And XVIII, XXI, and XXII show kinematic…
With ages comparable to the age of the Universe, the variable stars of RR Lyrae type have eyewitnessed the formation of their host galaxies, and thus can provide information on the processes that led to the assembling of large galaxies such as the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy. The present knowledge of the RR Lyrae population in Local Group dwarf spheroidal galaxies is reviewed,calling attention to the "ultra-faint" spheroidal systems recently discovered around the Milky Way by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The properties of the RR Lyrae stars and the Oosterhoff dichotomy observed for Gal…
In recent years the Sloan Digital Sky Survey has unraveled a new population of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs) in the vicinity of the Milky Way (MW) whose origin remains a puzzle. Using a suite of collisionless N-body simulations, we investigate the formation of UFDs in the context of the tidal stirring model for the formation of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group (LG). Our simulations are designed to reproduce the tidal interactions between MW-sized host galaxies and rotationally supported dwarfs embedded in 10^9 M_sun dark matter (DM) halos. We explore a variety of inner density …
The Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy contains two distinct stellar populations: one metal-rich and the other metal-poor. Several authors have argued that in order for these two populations to reside in the same gravitational potential, the dark matter halo must have a core similar to that observed in the stellar count profile. This would rule out the cuspy Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) density profiles predicted for halos and subhalos by dark matter only simulations of the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (Lambda-CDM) cosmological model. We present a new theoretical framework to analyse stellar count and v…
The core-cusp problem is one of the controversial issues in the standard paradigm of $Λ$ cold dark matter ($Λ$CDM) theory. However, under the assumption of conventional spherical symmetry, the strong degeneracy among model parameters makes it unclear whether dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies indeed have cored dark matter density profiles at the centers. In this work, we revisit this problem using non-spherical mass models, which have the advantage of being able to alleviate the degeneracy. Applying our mass models to the currently available kinematic data of the eight classical dSphs, we find t…
We generate stellar distribution functions (DFs) in triaxial haloes in order to examine the reliability of slopes $Γ\equiv Δ{\rm log} M / Δ{\rm log} r$ inferred by applying mass estimators of the form $M\propto R_eσ^2$ (i.e. assuming spherical symmetry, where $R_e$ and $σ$ are luminous effective radius and global velocity dispersion, respectively) to two stellar sub-populations independently tracing the same gravitational potential. The DFs take the form $f(E)$, are dynamically stable, and are generated within triaxial potentials corresponding directly to subhaloes formed in cosmological dark-…
We report preliminary results concerning the detailed chemical composition of metal poor stars belonging to close ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (hereafter UfDSphs). The abundances have been determined thanks to spectra obtained with X-Shooter, a high efficiency spectrograph installed on one of the ESO VLT units. The sample of ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal stars have abundance ratios slightly lower to what is measured in field halo star of the same metallicity.We did not find extreme abundances in our Hercules stars as the one found by Koch for his 2 Hercules stars. The synthesis of the neutron cap…
We study the prospects for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) to find new dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Milky Way. Adopting models of Milky-Way halo substructure and phenomenological prescriptions connecting subhalos and satellite galaxies, we obtain surface brightness distributions of $V$-band magnitude that lead us to predict that LSST will discover tens to hundreds of dwarf spheroidal galaxies above its sensitivity. The soon-to-be-discovered dwarfs will be interesting targets for indirect searches of dark matter annihilation yields. We forecast the distribution function of gamma-…
We study the density structures of dark matter subhalos for both cold dark matter and self-interacting dark matter models using high-resolution cosmological $N$-body simulations. We quantify subhalo's central density at 150 pc from the center of each subhalo at the classical dwarf spheroidal and ultrafaint dwarf scales found in Milky-Way sized halos. By comparing them with observations, we find that the self-interacting scattering cross-section of $σ/m<3\ \rm{cm^{2}g^{-1}}$ is favored. Due to the combination of hosts' tide and self-interactions, the central density of subhalos with small peric…
We perform collisionless N-body simulations to investigate whether binary mergers between rotationally-supported dwarfs can lead to the formation of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). Our simulation campaign is based on a hybrid approach combining cosmological simulations and controlled numerical experiments. We select merger events from a Constrained Local UniversE (CLUES) simulation of the Local Group (LG) and record the properties of the interacting dwarf-sized halos. This information is subsequently used to seed controlled experiments of binary encounters between dwarf galaxies consisting …
Our knowledge about the dynamics, the chemical abundances and the evolutionary histories of the more luminous dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies is constantly growing. However, very little is known about the enrichment of the ultra-faint systems recently discovered in large numbers in large sky surveys. Current low-resolution spectroscopy and photometric data indicate that these galaxies are highly dark matter dominated and predominantly metal poor. On the other hand, recent high-resolution abundance analyses indicate that some dwarf galaxies experienced highly inhomogenous chemical enrichment, …
Dwarf spheroidal galaxies that form in halo substructures provide stringent constraints on dark matter annihilation. Many ultrafaint dwarfs discovered with modern surveys contribute significantly to these constraints. At present, because of the lack of abundant stellar kinematic data for the ultrafaints, non-informative prior assumptions are usually made for the parameters of the density profiles. Based on semi-analytic models of dark matter subhalos and their connection to satellite galaxies, we present more informative and realistic satellite priors. We show that our satellite priors lead to…
It has been suggested that the internal dynamics of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) can be used to test whether or not ultralight axions with $m_a\sim 10^{-22}\text{eV}$ are a preferred dark matter candidate. However, comparisons to theoretical predictions tend to be inconclusive for the simple reason that while most cosmological models consider only dark matter, one observes only baryons. Here we use realistic kinematic mock data catalogs of Milky Way dSph's to show that the "mass-anisotropy degeneracy" in the Jeans equations leads to biased bounds on the axion mass in galaxies with unknown…
