[Abridged] High-resolution N-body simulations have recently shown that the structural properties of highly nonlinear cosmic structures, as e.g. their average concentration at a given mass, could be significantly modified in the presence of an interaction between Dark Energy and Dark Matter. While a constant interaction strength leads to less concentrated density profiles, a steep growth in time of the coupling function has been shown to determine a large increase of halo concentrations over a wide range of masses, including the typical halos hosting luminous spiral galaxies. This determines a substantial worsening of the "cusp-core" tension arising in the standard $Λ$CDM model and provides a direct way to constrain the form of the Dark Energy interaction. In the present paper we make use of the outcomes of some high-resolution N-body simulations of a specific class of interacting Dark Energy models to compare the predicted rotation curves of luminous spiral galaxies forming in these cosmologies against real observational data. Our results show how some specific interacting Dark Energy scenarios featuring a steep growth in time of the coupling function -- which are virtually indistinguishable from LCDM in the background -- cannot fit the observed rotation curves of luminous spiral galaxies and can therefore be ruled out only on the basis of dynamical properties of small-scale structures. Our study is a pilot investigation of the effects of a Dark Energy interaction at small scales, and demonstrates how the dynamical properties of visible galaxies can in some cases provide direct constraints on the nature of Dark Energy.
I summarize the results of our integral field spectroscopic observations of the nearby prototype of HII galaxies, II Zw 40. Observations with GMOS-IFU on GEMINI-North in the optical allowed us to make a detailed kinematic picture of the central starburst, while SINFONI with adaptive optics on the ESO-VLT gave us a near-IR view of the interplay between the ISM phases. Here, I also address the question that not all starbursts require an external trigger such as a galaxy-galaxy encounter, as it seems to be the case for a fraction of low luminosity HII galaxies. We speculate that these may form st…
We attribute the observed rotational velocity profiles of spiral galaxy disks to a combination of Newtonian and exponential gravitational potentials. We offer a novel, yet perfectly plausible, Lagrangian from which the exponential potential is derived. The exponential potential is defined by two universal constants (corresponding to a coupling constant and a graviton mass) that we determine from our sample of 12 THINGS disks. All velocity profile fits are excellent.
We study simple models of massive galaxy clusters in which the intracluster medium (ICM) rotates differentially in equilibrium in the cluster gravitational potential. We obtain the X-ray surface brightness maps, evaluating the isophote flattening due to the gas rotation. Using a set of different rotation laws, we put constraint on the amplitude of the rotation velocity, finding that rotation curves with peak velocity up to \sim 600 km s^-1 are consistent with the ellipticity profiles of observed clusters. We convolve each of our models with the instrument response of the X-ray Calorimeter Spec…
We present the first simulated galaxy clusters (M_200 > 10^14 Msun) with both self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) and baryonic physics. They exhibit a greater diversity in both dark matter and stellar density profiles than their counterparts in simulations with collisionless dark matter (CDM), which is generated by the complex interplay between dark matter self-interactions and baryonic physics. Despite variations in formation history, we demonstrate that analytical Jeans modelling predicts the SIDM density profiles remarkably well, and the diverse properties of the haloes can be understood in…
Merging galaxy clusters allows to study the different mass components, dark and baryonic, separately. Also their occurrence enables to test the $Λ$CDM scenario and they could put constrains in the self interacting cross section of the dark matter particle. It is necessary to perform an homogeneous analysis of these systems. Hence, based in a recently presented sample of candidates for interacting galaxy clusters, we present the analysis of two of these cataloged systems. In this work, the first of a serie devoted to characterize galaxy clusters in merger process, we perform a weak lensing anal…
We report the discovery of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) pair in the interacting galaxy system IRAS 20210+1121 at z = 0.056. An XMM-Newton observation reveals the presence of an obscured (Nh ~ 5 x 10^{23} cm^-2), Seyfert-like (L_{2-10 keV} = 4.7 x 10^{42} erg/s) nucleus in the northern galaxy, which lacks unambiguous optical AGN signatures. Our spectral analysis also provides strong evidence that the IR-luminous southern galaxy hosts a Type 2 quasar embedded in a bright starburst emission. In particular, the X-ray primary continuum from the nucleus appears totally depressed in the XMM-Newto…
In this work we present scanning Fabry-Perot H$α$ observations of the isolated interacting galaxy pair NGC 5278/79 obtained with the PUMA Fabry-Perot interferometer. We derived velocity fields and rotation curves for both galaxies. For NGC 5278 we also obtained the residual velocity map to investigate the non-circular motions, and estimated its mass by fitting the rotation curve with a disk+halo components. We test three different types of halo (pseudo-isothermal, Hernquist and Navarro Frenk White) and obtain satisfactory fits to the rotation curve for all profiles. The amount of dark matter r…
We have used the GALEX ultraviolet telescope to study stellar populations and star formation morphology in a well-defined sample of more than three dozen nearby optically-selected pre-merger interacting galaxy pairs. We have combined the GALEX NUV and FUV images with broadband optical maps from the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey to investigate the ages and extinctions of the tidal features and the disks. We have identified a few new candidate tidal dwarf galaxies in this sample, as well as other interesting morphologies such as accretion tails, `beads on a string', and `hinge clumps'. In only a fe…
We report the properties of the interacting S0 galaxy NGC 5195 (M51B), revealed in a pixel analysis using the HST/ACS images in the F435W, F555W and F814W (BVI) bands. We analyze the pixel color-magnitude diagram (pCMD) of NGC 5195, focusing on the properties of its red and blue pixel sequences and the difference from the pCMD of NGC 5194 (M51A; the spiral galaxy interacting with NGC 5195). The red pixel sequence of NGC 5195 is redder than that of NGC 5194, which corresponds to the difference in the dust optical depth of 2<Δτ_V<4 at fixed age and metallicity. The blue pixel sequence of NGC 519…
We present the results of Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations of the interacting system Arp86 in both neutral atomic hydrogen, HI, and in radio continuum at 240, 606 and 1394 MHz. In addition to HI emission from the two dominant galaxies, NGC7752 and NGC7753, these observations show a complex distribution of HI tails and bridges due to tidal interactions. The regions of highest column density appear related to the recent sites of intense star formation. HI column densities $\sim1-$1.5 $\times10^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$ have been detected in the tidal bridge which is bright in Spitzer im…
We measured and modeled the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in 28 bands from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared (FIR) for 31 interacting galaxies in 14 systems. The sample is drawn from the Spitzer Interacting Galaxy Survey, which probes a range of galaxy interaction parameters at multiple wavelengths with an emphasis on the infrared bands. The subset presented in this paper consists of all galaxies for which FIR Herschel SPIRE observations are publicly available. Our SEDs combine the Herschel photometry with multi-wavelength data from Spitzer, GALEX, Swift UVOT, and 2MASS. While the sha…
The relation between galaxy luminosity L and halo virial velocity v_vir required to fit the galaxy luminosity function differs from the observed Tully-Fisher relation between L and disc speed v_rot. Hence the problem of reproducing the galaxy luminosity function and the Tully-Fisher relation simultaneously has plagued semianalytic models since their inception. Here we study the relation between v_rot and v_vir by fitting observational average rotation curves of disc galaxies binned in luminosity. We show that the v_rot - v_vir relation that we obtain in this way can fully account for this seem…
We compare the UV-optical colors of a well-defined set of optically-selected pre-merger interacting galaxy pairs with those of normal spirals. The shorter wavelength colors show a larger dispersion for the interacting galaxies than for the spirals. This result can best be explained by higher star formation rates on average in the interacting galaxies, combined with higher extinctions on average. This is consistent with earlier studies, that found that the star formation in interacting galaxies tends to be more centrally concentrated than in normal spirals, perhaps due to gas being driven into …
Arp 104 is a pair of luminous interacting galaxies consisting of NGC 5216, an elliptical, and NGC 5218, a disturbed disk galaxy and joined by a stellar bridge. We obtained optical imaging to support photometric and color studies of the system. NGC 5216 lies on the red sequence, while the unusual distribution of stellar population properties in combination with intense central star formation in a dusty region result in NGC 5218 being a nearby example of an intermediate color (green valley) system. The stellar bridge has remarkably uniform optical surface brightness, with colors consistent with …
An expression for rotational velocity of a test particle around the central mass in the invariant plane is derived. For this, a line element of Schwarzschild de-Sitter space-time is used to study the effect of cosmological constant ($Λ$) on the motion of both massive and massless particles. Using rotation curve data of 15 nearby spiral and barred spiral galaxies, we estimated the mass and $Λ$ of the galaxy. The mass of the galaxies are found to lie in the range 0.13-7.60 $\times$ 10$^{40}$ kg. The cosmological constant ($Λ$) is found to be negative ($-$0.03 to $-$0.10 $\times$ 10$^{-40}$ km$^{…
Malin 1 is a unique, extraordinarily large low surface brightness galaxy. The structure and the origins of the galaxy are poorly understood. The reason for such a situation is an absence of detailed observational data, especially, of high-resolution kinematics. In this Letter we study the stellar kinematics of the inner part (r < 15 kpc) of Malin 1. We present spectroscopic arguments in favour of a small galaxy - Malin 1B - being a companion probably interacting with the main galaxy - Malin 1. This object is clearly seen in many published images of Malin 1 but is not mentioned in any astronomi…
Rotation curves constrain a galaxy's underlying mass density profile, under the assumption that the observed rotation produces a centripetal force that exactly balances the inward force of gravity. However, most rotation curves are measured using emission lines from gas, which can experience additional forces due to pressure. In realistic galaxy disks, the gas pressure declines with radius, providing additional radial support to the disk. The measured tangential rotation speed will therefore tend to lag the true circular velocity of a test particle. The gas pressure is dominated by turbulence,…
We present observations of a peculiar Lyman alpha-emitting galaxy at redshift 3.344, discovered in a deep, blind spectroscopic survey for faint Lyman alpha emitters with the Magellan II telescope in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF). The galaxy exhibits complex Lyman alpha emission, including an extended, asymmetric component that is partially suppressed by damped Lyman alpha absorption, and two spatially elongated, narrow emission features. Archival HST ACS imaging shows evidence for tidal disruption of the stellar component. This V=27 galaxy appears to give us unprecedented insights into tw…
We study the impact of galaxy-galaxy interactions on the FIR properties of galaxies and its evolution at 0<z<1.2. Using the high-z galaxies in the fields of GOODS observed by Herschel in the framework of the GOODS-Herschel key program and the local IRAS or AKARI-selected galaxies in the field of SDSS DR7, we investigate the dependence of galaxy properties on the morphology of and the distance to the nearest neighbor galaxy. We find that the SFRs and the SSFRs of galaxies, on average, depend on the morphology of and the distance to the nearest neighbor galaxy in this redshift range. When a late…
Cosmological voids provide a unique environment for the study of galaxy formation and evolution. The galaxy population in their interior have significantly different properties than average field galaxies. As part of our Void Galaxy Survey (VGS), we have found a system of three interacting galaxies (VGS_31) inside a large void. VGS_31 is a small elongated group whose members are embedded in a common HI envelope. The HI picture suggests a filamentary structure with accretion of intergalactic cold gas from the filament onto the galaxies. We present deep optical and narrow band H_alpha data, opti…
Self-interacting dark matter is known as one of the most appropriate candidates for dark matter. Due to its excellent success in removing many astrophysical problems, particularly in small scale structure, studying this model has taken on added significance. In this paper, we focus on the results of two previously performed simulations of cluster sized halos with self-interacting dark matter and introduce a new function for the density profile of galaxy clusters, which can perfectly describe the result of these simulations. This density profile helps to find a velocity dispersion profile and a…
The effect of halo substructures on galaxy rotation curves is investigated in this paper using a simple model of dark matter clustering. A dark matter halo density profile is developed based only on the scale free nature of clustering that leads to a statistically self-similar distribution of the substructures at galactic scale. Semi-analytical method is used to derive rotation curves for such a clumpy dark matter density profile. It is found that the halo substructures significantly affect the galaxy velocity field. Based on the fractal geometry of the halo, this self-consistent model predict…
We present sub-mm continuum and heterodyne data of the interacting galaxy NGC 3627, obtained with the HHT and APEX. We find significant changes in the molecular line ratios over small scales in the southeastern part of this galaxy. The kinematics of the CO(2-1) line, as well as the morphology in the 870um continuum emission, suggest a continuation of the western spiral arm on the east side of the galaxy's central area. This continued spiral arm crosses the normal eastern spiral arm in an area which shows an unusual magnetic field configuration. This spiral arm crossing, independently of if it'…
The method for detection of the galaxy cluster rotation based on the study of distribution of member galaxies with velocities lower and higher of the cluster mean velocity over the cluster image is proposed. The search for rotation is made for flat clusters with $a/b>1.8$ and BMI type clusters which are expected to be rotating. For comparison there were studied also round clusters and clusters of NBMI type, the second by brightness galaxy in which does not differ significantly from the cluster cD galaxy. Seventeen out of studied 65 clusters are found to be rotating. It was found that the detec…
There are significant discrepancies between observational evidence and the hierarchical galaxy formation theory with respect to the shape of dark matter halos, the correlation between galaxy characteristics, and galaxy evolutionary history. This paper introduces a modification to the hierarchical galaxy formation theory that hypothesizes that dark matter enters into highly elliptical orbits, and is therefore, effectively redistributed during the period of galactic nuclei activity. Adding this modification, the theory more accurately predicts the observed development history of galaxies and the…
Recently, Meneghetti et al. reported an excess of small-scale gravitational lenses in galaxy clusters. We study its implications for self-interacting dark matter (SIDM), compared with standard cold dark matter (CDM). We design controlled N-body simulations that incorporate observational constraints. The presence of early-type galaxies in cluster substructures can deepen gravitational potential and reduce tidal mass loss. Both scenarios require a relatively high baryon concentration in the substructure to accommodate the lensing measurements, and their tangential caustics are similar. The SIDM …
We combine constraints from linear and nonlinear scales, for the first time, to study the interaction between dark matter and dark energy. We devise a novel N-body simulation pipeline for cosmological models beyond $Λ$CDM. This pipeline is fully self-consistent and opens a new window to study the nonlinear structure formation in general phenomenological interacting dark energy models. By comparing our simulation results with the SDSS galaxy-galaxy weak lensing measurements, we are able to constrain the strength of interaction between dark energy and dark matter. Compared with the previous stud…
The large number of galaxies imaged by digital sky surveys reinforces the need for computational methods for analyzing galaxy morphology. While the morphology of most galaxies can be associated with a stage on the Hubble sequence, morphology of galaxy mergers is far more complex due to the combination of two or more galaxies with different morphologies and the interaction between them. Here we propose a computational method based on unsupervised machine learning that can quantitatively analyze morphologies of galaxy mergers and associate galaxies by their morphology. The method works by first …
We review our contribution to infrared Renormalization Group (RG) effects to General Relativity in the context of galaxies. Considering the effective action approach to Quantum Field Theory in curved background, we argued that the proper RG energy scale, in the weak field limit, should be related to the Newtonian potential. In the galaxy context, even without dark matter, this led to a remarkably small gravitational coupling G variation (about or less than 10^{-12} of its value per light-year), while also capable of generating galaxy rotation curves about as good as the best phenomenological d…
We constrain the rotational kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (rkSZ) effect in Planck data using a sample of rotating galaxy clusters identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We extract cluster-centered cutouts from Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps that have been cleaned of thermal SZ signal. Using previous constraints on the cluster rotation vectors determined from the motions of galaxies, we fit for the amplitude of the rkSZ effect in the CMB cutouts, marginalizing over parameters describing the cluster electron distribution. We also employ an alternative, less model-depend…
We study the magnetic fields in galaxy clusters through Faraday rotation measurements crossing systems in different dynamical states. We confirm that magnetic fields are present in those systems and analyze the difference between relaxed and unrelaxed samples with respect to the dispersion between their inherent Faraday Rotation measurements. We found an increase of this RM dispersion and a higher RM overlapping frequency for unrelaxed clusters. This fact suggests that a large scale physical process is involved in the nature of unrelaxed systems and possible depolarization effects are present …
We present a fit to observational data in an asymmetric self-interacting dark matter model using our recently calculated cross sections that incorporate both $t$-channel and $u$-channel exchanges in the scattering of identical particles. We find good fits to the data ranging from dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters, and equivalent relative velocities from $\sim 20$ km/sec to $\gtrsim 10^3$ km/s. We compare our results with previous fits that used only $t$-channel exchange contributions to the scattering.
The rotation curves of spiral galaxies exhibit a diversity that has been difficult to understand in the cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm. We show that the self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) model provides excellent fits to the rotation curves of a sample of galaxies with asymptotic velocities in the 25 to 300 km/s range that exemplify the full range of diversity. We only assume the halo concentration-mass relation predicted by the CDM model and a fixed value of the self-interaction cross section.In dark matter dominated galaxies, thermalization due to self-interactions creates large cores and …
We study the possible rotation of cluster galaxies, developing, testing and applying a novel algorithm which identifies rotation, if such does exist, as well as its rotational centre, its axis orientation, rotational velocity amplitude and, finally, the clockwise or counterclockwise direction of rotation on the plane of the sky. To validate our algorithms we construct realistic Monte Carlo mock rotating clusters and confirm that our method provides robust indications of rotation. We then apply our methodology on a sample of Abell clusters with z<~0.1 with member galaxies selected from the Sloa…
The rich statistics of galaxy rotations as captured by the velocity function (VF) provides invaluable constraints on galactic baryon physics and the nature of dark matter (DM). However, the comparison of observed galaxy rotations against cosmological models is prone to subtle caveats that can easily lead to misinterpretations. Our analysis reveals full statistical consistency between ~5000 galaxy rotations, observed in line-of-sight projection, and predictions based on the standard cosmological model (LCDM) at the mass-resolution of the Millennium simulation (HI line-based circular velocities …
In this paper we study the density profiles of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) haloes spanning the full observable mass range, from dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters. Using realistic simulations that model the baryonic physics relevant for galaxy formation, we compare the density profiles of haloes simulated with either SIDM or cold and collisionless dark matter (CDM) to those inferred from observations of stellar velocity dispersion, gas rotation curves, weak and strong gravitational lensing, and/or X-ray maps. We make our comparison in terms of the maximal surface density of haloes, circ…
The application of Bayesian techniques to astronomical data is generally non-trivial because the fitting parameters can be strongly degenerated and the formal uncertainties are themselves uncertain. An example is provided by the contradictory claims over the presence or absence of a universal acceleration scale (g$_\dagger$) in galaxies based on Bayesian fits to rotation curves. To illustrate the situation, we present an analysis in which the Newtonian gravitational constant $G_N$ is allowed to vary from galaxy to galaxy when fitting rotation curves from the SPARC database, in analogy to $g_{\…
We investigate the possibility for the SKA to detect and study the magnetic fields in galaxy clusters and in the less dense environments surrounding them using Faraday Rotation Measures. To this end, we produce 3-dimensional magnetic field models for galaxy clusters of different masses and in different stages of their evolution, and derive mock rotation measure observations of background radiogalaxies. According to our results, already in phase I, we will be able to infer the magnetic field properties in galaxy clusters as a function of the cluster mass, down to $10^{13}$ solar-masses. Moreove…
Models of Cold Dark Matter predict that the distribution of dark matter in galaxy clusters should be cuspy, centrally concentrated. Constant density cores would be strong evidence for beyond-CDM physics, such as Self-Interacting Dark Matter (SIDM). An observable consequence would be oscillations of the Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG) in otherwise relaxed galaxy clusters. Offset BCGs have indeed been observed - but only interpreted via a simplified, analytic model of oscillations. We compare these observations to the BAHAMAS-SIDM suite of cosmological simulations, which include SIDM and a fully …
The mass--velocity--size relation of late-type galaxies decouples into independent correlations between mass and velocity (the Tully-Fisher relation), and between mass and size. This behaviour is different to early-type galaxies which lie on a Fundamental Plane. We study the coupling of the Tully-Fisher and mass-size relations in observations (the SPARC sample) and in empirical galaxy formation models based on halo abundance matching, and rotation curve fits with a hydrodynamically motivated halo profile. We systematically investigate the correlation coefficient between the Tully-Fisher residu…
There are a variety of cosmological models for dark matter and dark energy in which a possible interaction is considered between these two significant components of the universe. We focus on five suggested models of interacting dark matter and dark energy and derive the modified virial theorem for them by developing a previous approach. It provides an opportunity to study the evolution of this modified virial theorem with time and interacting constants for different interacting models. Then we use this obtained virial condition to investigate the modified mass-temperature relation in galaxy cl…
Flat galaxy rotation curves and the accelerating Universe both imply the existence of a critical acceleration, which is of the same order of magnitude in both the cases, in spite of the galactic and cosmic length scales being vastly different. Yet, it is customary to explain galactic acceleration by invoking gravitationally bound dark matter, and cosmic acceleration by invoking a `repulsive` dark energy. Instead, might it not be the case that the flatness of rotation curves and the acceleration of the Universe have a common cause? In this essay we propose a modified theory of gravity. By apply…
Current constraints on gravity are relatively weak on galactic and intergalactic scales. Screened modified gravity models can exhibit complex behaviour there without violating stringent tests of gravity within our Solar System. They might hence provide viable extensions of the theory of gravity. Here, we use galaxy kinematics to constrain screened modified gravity models. We focus on chameleon $f(R)$ gravity and predict its impact on galaxy rotation curves and radial acceleration relations. This is achieved by post-processing state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulations from the \textsc{aurig…
Using the Galaxy as an example, we study the effect of j x B force on the rotational curves of gas and plasma in galaxies. Acceptable model for the galactic magnetic field and plausible physical parameters are used to fit the flat rotational curve for gas and plasma based on the observed baryonic (visible) matter distribution and j x B force term in the static MHD equation of motion. We also study the effects of varied strength of the magnetic field, its pitch angle and length scale on the rotational curves. We show that j x B force does not play an important role on the plasma dynamics in the…
In this work, we investigate the possibility that the galaxy rotation curves can be explained in the framework of modified gravity models that introduce a Yukawa term in the gravitational potential. We include dark matter and assume that the fifth-force couples differently to dark matter and to baryons. We aim at constraining the modified gravity parameters $β$ and $λ$, that is, the strength and the range of the Yukawa fifth force, respectively, using a set of 40 galaxy rotation curves data from the SPARC catalogue. We include baryonic gas, disk and bulge components, along with a NFW halo of d…
We investigate the possibility to explain theoretically the galaxy rotation curves by a gravitational potential in total absence of dark matter. To this aim an analytic fourth-order theory of gravity, nonminimally coupled with a massive scalar field is considered. Specifically, the interaction term is given by an analytic function $f(R,ϕ)$ where $R$ is the Ricci scalar and $ϕ$ is the scalar field. The gravitational potential is generated by a point-like source and compared with the so called Sanders's potential that can be exactly reproduced in this case. This result means that the problem of …
