We use 31 simulated galaxies from the MaGICC project to investigate the effects of baryonic feedback on the density profiles of dark matter (DM) haloes. The sample covers a wide mass range: 9.4e9<Mhalo/Msun<7.8e11, hosting galaxies with stellar masses: 5.0e5<M*/Msun<8.3e10, i.e. from dwarf to L*. The galaxies are simulated with several baryonic prescriptions, including a range of stellar feedbacks. The main result is a clear dependence of the inner slope of the DM density profile, α in ρr^α, on the ratio between stellar-to-halo mass (M*/Mhalo). This relation is independent of the stellar feedback scheme, allowing a prediction for cusp vs core formation. When M*/Mhalo is low, ~0.01%, energy from stellar feedback is insufficient to significantly alter the inner DM density and the galaxy retains a cuspy profile. At higher M*/Mhalo, feedback drives the expansion of the DM and generates cored profiles. The flattest profiles form where M*/Mhalo~0.5%. Above this ratio, stars formed in the central regions deepen the gravitational potential enough to oppose this supernova-driven expansion process, resulting in smaller cores and cuspier profiles. Combining the dependence of α on M*/Mhalo with the abundance matching relation between M* and Mhalo provides a prediction for how α varies with M*. Further, using the Tully-Fisher relation allows a prediction for the dependence of the DM inner slope on the observed rotation velocity of galaxies. The most cored galaxies are expected to have Vrot~50km/s, with α decreasing for more massive disc galaxies: spirals with Vrot~150km/s have central slopes α<-0.8, approaching the NFW profile. This novel prediction for the dependence of α on disc galaxy mass can be tested using current observational data sets, and can be applied to theoretical modeling of mass profiles and populations of disc galaxies.
This study investigates the dynamical response of dark matter (DM) halos to recurrent starbursts in forming less-massive galaxies to solve the core-cusp problem. The gas, which is heated by supernova feedback after a starburst, expands and the star formation then terminates. This expanding gas loses energy by radiative cooling and then falls back toward the galactic center. Subsequently, the starburst is enhanced again. This cycle of expansion and contraction of the interstellar gas leads to a repetitive change in the gravitational potential of the gas. The resonance between DM particles and t…
The core-cusp problem remains as one of the unsolved discrepancies between observations and theories predicted by the standard paradigm of cold dark matter (CDM) cosmology. To solve this problem, we perform N-body simulations to study the nonlinear response of CDM halos to the variance of the gravitational potential induced by gas removal from galaxy centers. In this study, we focus on the timescale of the gas ejection, which is strongly correlated with stellar activities, and demonstrate that it is one of the key factors in determining the dynamical response of CDM halos. The results of simul…
Cusp-to-Core Transition of Dark Matter Halos across Galaxy Mass Scales
National Institute of Technology, Sendai College(仙台高等专门学校);Astronomical Institute, Tohoku University(东北大学天文研究所);ICRR, The University of Tokyo(东京大学宇宙线研究所);Graduate School of Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba(筑波大学理工学研究科);Center for Computational Sciences , University of Tsukuba(筑波大学计算科学中心)
The core-cusp problem is a widely cited motivation for the exploration of dark matter models beyond standard CDM. One such alternative is ULDM; extremely light scalar particles exhibiting wavelike properties on kiloparsec scales. Astrophysically realistic ULDM halos are expected to consist of inner solitonic cores embedded in NFW-like outer halos. The presence of the solitonic core suggests that ULDM may resolve the core-cusp discrepancy associated with pure NFW halos without recourse to baryonic physics. However, it has been demonstrated that the density of ULDM halos can exceed those of comp…
Dark-matter halos grown in cosmological simulations appear to have central NFW-like density cusps with mean values of $d\logρ/d\log r \approx -1$, and some dispersion, which is generally parametrized by the varying index $α$ in the Einasto density profile fitting function. Non-universality in profile shapes is also seen in observed galaxy clusters and possibly dwarf galaxies. Here we show that non-universality, at any given mass scale, is an intrinsic property of DARKexp, a theoretically derived model for collisionless self-gravitating systems. We demonstrate that DARKexp - which has only one …
The smallest dark matter halos are formed first in the early universe. According to recent studies, the central density cusp is much steeper in these halos than in larger halos and scales as $ρ\propto r^{-(1.5-1.3)}$. We present results of very large cosmological $N$-body simulations of the hierarchical formation and evolution of halos over a wide mass range, beginning from the formation of the smallest halos. We confirmed early studies that the inner density cusps are steeper in halos at the free streaming scale. The cusp slope gradually becomes shallower as the halo mass increases. The slope…
The cusp-core problem is one of the main challenges of the cold dark matter paradigm on small scales: the density of a dark matter halo is predicted to rise rapidly toward the center as rho ~ r^alpha with alpha between -1 and -1.5, while such a cuspy profile has not been clearly observed. We have carried out the spatially-resolved mapping of gas dynamics toward a nearby ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG), AGC 242019. The derived rotation curve of dark matter is well fitted by the cuspy profile as described by the Navarro-Frenk-White model, while the cored profiles including both the pseudo-isothermal …
We present mock DensePak Integral Field Unit (IFU) velocity fields, rotation curves, and halo fits for disc galaxies formed in spherical and triaxial cuspy dark matter haloes, and spherical cored dark matter haloes. The simulated galaxies are "observed" under a variety of realistic conditions to determine how well the underlying dark matter halo can be recovered and to test the hypothesis that cuspy haloes can be mistaken for cored haloes. We find that the appearance of the velocity field is distinctly different depending on the underlying halo type. We also find that we can successfully recov…
Recent studies found the densities of dark matter (DM) subhaloes which surround nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) to be significantly lower than those of the most massive subhaloes expected around Milky Way sized galaxies in cosmological simulations, the so called "too-big-to-fail" (TBTF) problem. A caveat of previous work has been that dark substructures were assumed to contain steep density cusps in the center of DM haloes even though the central density structure of DM haloes is still under debate. In this study, we re-examine the TBTF problem for models of DM density structure with …
Observations have revealed interesting universal properties of dark matter (DM) halos especially around low-mass galaxies. Strigari et al. (2008) showed that DM halos have common enclosed masses within 300pc (Strigari relation). Kormendy & Freeman (2004) reported DM halos having almost identical central surface densities (the $μ_{\rm 0D}$ relation). In addition, there exists a core-cusp problem, a discrepancy of the central density distribution between simulated halos and observations. We investigate whether a scenario where cuspy halos transform into cores by some dynamical processes can also…
A clear prediction of the Cold Dark Matter model is the existence of cuspy dark matter halo density profiles on all mass scales. This is not in agreement with the observed rotation curves of spiral galaxies, challenging on small scales the otherwise successful CDM paradigm. In this work we employ high resolution cosmological hydro-dynamical simulations to study the effects of dissipative processes on the inner distribution of dark matter in Milky-Way like objects (M~1e12 Msun). Our simulations include supernova feedback, and the effects of the radiation pressure of massive stars before they ex…
We investigate the reliability of standard N-body simulations by modelling of the well-known Hernquist halo with the help of \texttt{GADGET-2} code (which uses the tree algorithm to calculate the gravitational force) and \texttt{ph4} code (which uses the direct summation). Comparing the results, we find that the core formation in the halo center (which is conventionally considered as the first sign of numerical effects, to be specific, of the collisional relaxation) has nothing to do with the collisional relaxation, being defined by the properties of the tree algorithm. This result casts doubt…
Twenty three years ago, cosmological N-body simulations revealed quasi-universal NFW dark matter halos, whose physical origin is still unclear. This work tries to solve this issue by Landau-Ginzburg (LG) theory in equilibrium statistical mechanics. We replace the order parameter in LG theory by density and consider the dark matter halos as fluctuations from the equilibrium state of the background, which can be the main halos for the subhalos, or the homogeneous and isotropic Universe for the galaxy cluster halos. With the assumption that the fluctuations of Helmholtz free energy depend mainly …
The apparent presence of large core radii in Low Surface Brightness galaxies has been claimed as evidence in favor of warm dark matter. Here we show that WDM halos do not have cores that are large fractions of the halo size: typically, r_core/r_200 < 0.001. This suggests an astrophysical origin for the large cores observed in these galaxies, as has been argued by other authors.
Role of prompt cusps in driving the core collapse of SIDM halos
Massachusetts Institute of Technology(麻省理工学院);University of Chicago(芝加哥大学);Carnegie Observatories(卡内基观测站);Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian(哈佛-史密森天体物理中心);Rice University(莱斯大学)
We re-investigate the Fornax cusp-core problem using observational results on the spatial and mass distributions of globular clusters (GCs) in order to put constraints on the dark matter profile. We model Fornax using high-resolution N-body simulations with entirely live systems, i.e. self-gravitating systems composed of stars and dark matter, which account correctly for dynamical friction and tidal effects between Fornax and the globular clusters. We test two alternative hypotheses, which are a cored and a cuspy halo for Fornax by exploring a reasonable range of initial conditions on globular…
The cold dark matter model predicts cuspy dark matter halos. However, it has been found that, in some low-mass galaxies, cored dark halos provide a better description of their internal dynamics. Here we give constraints on the dark halo profile in the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy by studying the longevity of two cold kinematic substructures detected in this galaxy. We perform N-body simulations of a stellar clump in the Sextans dwarf galaxy, including a live dark matter halo and the main stellar component. We find that, if the dark halo is cuspy, stellar clumps orbiting with semi-major axis…
Cusp-core problem is a controversial problem on galactic dark matter haloes. Cosmological N-body simulations has demonstrated that galactic dark matter haloes have a cuspy density profile at the centre. However, baryonic physics may affect the dark matter density profile. For example, it was suggested that adiabatic contraction of baryonic gas makes the dark matter cusp steeper. However, it is still an open question if the gas falls into the galactic centre in smooth adiabatic manner. Recent numerical studies suggested that disc galaxies might experience clumpy phase in their early stage of th…
Some observations of galaxies, and in particular dwarf galaxies, indicate a presence of cored density profiles in apparent contradiction with cusp profiles predicted by dark matter N-body simulations. We constructed an analytical model, using particle distribution functions (DFs), to show how a supernova (SN) explosion can transform a cusp density profile in a small-mass dark matter halo into a cored one. Considering the fact that a SN efficiently removes matter from the centre of the first haloes, we study the effect of mass removal through a SN perturbation in the DFs. We found that the tran…
We use cosmological hydrodynamical galaxy formation simulations from the NIHAO project to investigate the response of cold dark matter (CDM) haloes to baryonic processes. Previous work has shown that the halo response is primarily a function of the ratio between galaxy stellar mass and total virial mass, and the density threshold above which gas is eligible to form stars, $n [{\rm cm}^{-3}]$. At low $n$ all simulations in the literature agree that dwarf galaxy haloes are cuspy, but at high $n\ge 100$ there is no consensus. We trace halo contraction in dwarf galaxies with $n\ge 100$ reported in…
Observed kinematical data of 40 Local Group (LG) members are used to derive the dark matter halo mass of such galaxies. Haloes are selected from the theoretically expected LG mass function and two different density profiles are assumed, a standard universal cuspy model and a mass dependent profile which accounts for the effects of baryons in modifying the dark matter distribution within galaxies. The resulting relations between stellar and halo mass are compared with expectations from abundance matching. Using a universal cuspy profile, the ensemble of LG galaxies is fit in relatively low mass…
We use a fully GPU $N$-body code to demonstrate that dark matter minihalos, as a new component of globular clusters, resolve both the timing and cusp-core problems in Fornax if the five (or six) globular clusters were recently accreted ($\leq$ 3 Gyr ago) by Fornax. Under these assumptions, infall of these globular clusters does not occur and no star clusters form in the centre of Fornax in accordance with observations. We find that crossings of globular clusters that have DM minihalos near the Fornax centre induce a cusp-to-core transition of the dark matter halo and hence resolve the cusp-cor…
Bose-Einstein-condensed dark matter, also called scalar-field dark matter (SFDM), has become a popular alternative to cold dark matter (CDM), because it predicts galactic cores, in contrast to the cusps of CDM halos ("cusp-core problem"). We continue the study of SFDM with a strong, repulsive self-interaction; the Thomas-Fermi regime of SFDM (SFDM-TF). In this model, structure formation is suppressed below a scale related to the TF radius $R_\text{TF}$, which is close to the radius of central cores in these halos. We investigate for the first time the impact of baryons onto realistic galactic …
We discuss various aspects of the inner structure formation in virialized dark matter (DM) halos that form as primordial density inhomogeneities evolve in the cosmological standard model. The main focus is on the study of central cusps/cores and of the profiles of DM halo rotation curves, problems that reveal disagreements among the theory, numerical simulations, and observations. A method that was developed by the authors to describe equilibrium DM systems is presented, which allows investigating these complex nonlinear structures analytically and relating density distribution profiles within…
The ConflUent System of Peak trajectories (CUSP) is a rigorous formalism in the framework of the peak theory that allows one to derive from first principles andno free parameters the typical halo properties from the statistics of peaks in the filtered Gaussian random field of density perturbations. The predicted halo mass function, spherically averaged density, velocity dispersion, velocity anisotropy, ellipticity, prolateness and potential profiles, as well as the abundance and number density profiles of accreted and stripped subhalos and diffuse dark matter accurately recover the results of …
We demonstrate the existence of distribution functions that can be used to represent spherical massless cored stellar systems embedded in cuspy dark matter halos with constant mildly tangential velocity anisotropy. In particular, we derive analytically the functional form of the distribution function for a Plummer stellar sphere in a Hernquist dark halo, for β_0 = -0.5 and for different degrees of embedding. This particular example satisfies the condition that the central logarithmic slope of the light profile γ_0 > 2 β_0. Our models have velocity dispersion profiles similar to those observed …
We present an equilibrium statistical mechanical theory of collisionless self-gravitational systems with isotropic velocity distributions. Compared to existing standard theories, we introduce two changes: (1) the number of possible microstates is computed in energy (orbit) space rather than phase space and (2) low occupation numbers are treated more appropriately than using Stirling's approximation. Combined, the two modifications predict that the relaxed parts of collisionless self-gravitating systems, such as dark-matter halos, have a differential energy distribution N(E) ~ [exp(phi_0 - E) -…
Cosmological numerical simulations of galaxy formation have led to the cuspy density profile of a pure cold dark matter halo toward the center, which is in sharp contradiction with the observations of the rotation curves of cold dark matter-dominated dwarf and low surface brightness disk galaxies, with the latter tending to favor mass profiles with a flat central core. Many efforts have been devoted to resolve this cusp-core problem in recent years, among them, baryon-cold dark matter interactions are considered to be the main physical mechanisms erasing the cold dark matter (CDM) cusp into a …
In this paper we examine the effect of the formation and evolution of the disk galaxy on the distribution of dark halo matter. We have made simulations of isolated dark matter (DM) halo and two component (DM + baryons). N-body technique was used for stellar and DM particles and TVD MUSCL scheme for gas-dynamic simulations. The simulations include the processes of star formation, stellar feedback, heating and cooling of the interstellar medium. The results of numerical experiments with high spatial resolution let us to conclude in two main findings. First, accounting of star formation and super…
The recent detection of two faint and extended star clusters in the central regions of two Local Group dwarf galaxies, Eridanus II and Andromeda XXV, raises the question of whether clusters with such low densities can survive the tidal field of cold dark matter haloes with central density cusps. Using both analytic arguments and a suite of collisionless N-body simulations, I show that these clusters are extremely fragile and quickly disrupted in the presence of central cusps $ρ\sim r^{-α}$ with $α\gtrsim 0.2$. Furthermore, the scenario in which the clusters where originally more massive and sa…
It is shown that, if the tracer population is supported by a spherical dark halo with a core or a cusp diverging more slowly than that of a singular isothermal sphere, the logarithmic cusp slope 'g' of the tracers must be given exactly by g=2b where b is their velocity anisotropy parameter at the center unless the same tracers are dynamically cold at the center. If the halo cusp diverges faster than that of the singular isothermal sphere, the velocity dispersion of the tracers must diverge at the center too. In particular, if the logarithmic halo cusp slope is larger than two, the diverging ve…
Constraining the shape of dark matter haloes using only starlight II. Tests of the technique with objects of known gravitational potential
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias(加那利天体物理研究所);Universidad de La Laguna(拉古纳大学);Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Prov. de Buenos Aires, UNNOBA, CONICET(布宜诺斯艾利斯省西北国立大学,UNNOBA,CONICET);University of Virginia(弗吉尼亚大学)
We use cosmological hydrodynamical galaxy formation simulations from the NIHAO project to investigate the impact of the threshold for star formation on the response of the dark matter (DM) halo to baryonic processes. The fiducial NIHAO threshold, $n=10\, {\rm cm}^{-3}$, results in strong expansion of the DM halo in galaxies with stellar masses in the range $10^{7.5} < M_{star} < 10^{9.5} M_{\odot}$. We find that lower thresholds such as $n=0.1$ (as employed by the EAGLE/APOSTLE and Illustris/AURIGA projects) do not result in significant halo expansion at any mass scale. Halo expansion driven b…
We consider the infall of a massive clump into a dark-matter halo as a simple and extreme model for the effect of baryonic physics (neglected in gravity-only simulations of large-scale structure formation) on the dark-matter. We find that such an infalling clump is extremely efficient in altering the structure of the halo and reducing its central density: a clump of 1% the mass of the halo can remove about twice its own mass from the inner halo and transform a cusp into a core or weaker cusp. If the clump is subsequently removed, mimicking a galactic wind, the central halo density is further r…
An analytical solution for the discrepancy between observed core-like profiles and predicted cusp profiles in dark matter halos is studied. We calculate the distribution function for Navarro-Frenk-White halos and extract energy from the distribution, taking into account the effects of baryonic physics processes. We show with a simple argument that we can reproduce the evolution of a cusp to a flat density profile by a decrease of the initial potential energy.
Prompt cusps in hierarchical dark matter halos: Implications for annihilation boost
GRAPPA Institute, University of Amsterdam(GRAPPA研究所,阿姆斯特丹大学);Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, University of Tokyo(东京大学宇宙物理与数学研究所(Kavli));Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT)(能源、环境与技术研究中心)
We run high resolution fully GPU N-body simulations to demonstrate that the dark matter distribution in M31 is well-fitted by a core-like profile. Rich observational data especially on the giant stellar stream provides stringent constraints on the initial conditions of our simulations. We demonstrate that accretion of a satellite on a highly eccentric orbit heats up the central parts of M31, causes an outward migration of dark matter particles, flattens the central cusp over more than a decade in scale and generates a new model-independent dark matter profile that is well-fitted by a core. Our…
The chemodynamical evolution of spherical multi-component self-gravitating models for isolated dwarf galaxies is studied. We compare their evolution with and without feedback effects from star formation processes. We find that initially cuspy dark matter profiles flatten with time as a result of star formation, without any special tuning conditions. Thus the seemingly flattened profiles found in many dwarfs do not contradict the cuspy profiles predicted by cosmological models. We also calculate the chemical evolution of stars and gas, to permit comparisons with observational data.
The cold dark matter model of structure formation faces apparent problems on galactic scales. Several threads point to excessive halo concentration, including central densities that rise too steeply with decreasing radius. Yet, random fluctuations in the gaseous component can 'heat' the centres of haloes, decreasing their densities. We present a theoretical model deriving this effect from first principles: stochastic variations in the gas density are converted into potential fluctuations that act on the dark matter; the associated force correlation function is calculated and the corresponding …
We develop and apply new techniques in order to uncover galaxy rotation curves (RC) systematics. Considering that an ideal dark matter (DM) profile should yield RCs that have no bias towards any particular radius, we find that the Burkert DM profile satisfies the test, while the Navarro-Frenk-While (NFW) profile has a tendency of better fitting the region between one and two disc scale lengths than the inner disc scale length region. Our sample indicates that this behaviour happens to more than 75% of the galaxies fitted with an NFW halo. Also, this tendency does not weaken by considering "lar…
Cold dark matter haloes consist of a relatively smooth dark matter component as well as a system of bound subhaloes. It is the prevailing practice to include all halo mass, including mass in subhaloes, in studies of halo density profiles. However, often in observational studies satellites are treated as having their own distinct dark matter density profiles in addition to the profile of the host. This difference makes comparisons between theoretical and observed results difficult. In this work we investigate density profiles of the smooth components of host haloes by excluding mass contained w…
We have been able to connect the statistics of the observed double image gravitational lenses to the general properties of the internal structure of dark matter haloes. Our analytical theory for the GNFW lenses with parametrized cusp slope (alpha) gives us a relation connecting the cusp slope of the lensing profile to the observed magnification ratio of the produced images and location of the optical axis. The relation does not depend on cosmology, total lens mass, concentration or redshifts of the the lens and the lensed object. Simple geometry of axially symmetric lensing and aforementioned …
We compare proposed solutions to the core vs cusp issue of spiral galaxies, which has also been framed as a diversity problem, and demonstrate that the cuspiness of dark matter halos is correlated with the stellar surface brightness. We compare the rotation curve fits to the SPARC sample from a self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) model, which self-consistently includes the impact of baryons on the halo profile, and hydrodynamical N-body simulations with cold dark matter (CDM). The SIDM model predicts a strong correlation between the core size and the stellar surface density, and it provides th…
The stellar surface mass density profiles at the centers of typical ~L* and lower-mass spheroids exhibit power law 'cusps' with $Σ\propto R^(-n)$, where 0.5<n<1 for radii ~1-100 pc. Observations and theory support models in which these cusps are formed by dissipative gas inflows and nuclear starbursts in gas-rich mergers. At these comparatively large radii, stellar relaxation is unlikely to account for or strongly modify the cuspy stellar profiles. We argue that the power-law surface density profiles observed are a natural consequence of the gravitational instabilities that dominate angular mo…
We study the cusp/core problem using a secondary infall model (SIM) that takes into account the effect of ordered and random angular momentum, dynamical friction and baryons adiabatic contraction. The model is applied to structures on galactic scales (normal and dwarfs spiral galaxies) and on clusters of galaxies scales. Our analysis suggest that angular momentum and dynamical friction are able, on galactic scales, to overcome the competing effect of adiabatic contraction eliminating the cusp. The slope of density profile of inner haloes flattens with decreasing halo mass and the profile is we…
NGC 3311 is the central cD galaxy of the Hydra I cluster. We use globular clusters around NGC 3311, combined with kinematical data of the galaxy itself, to investigate the dark matter distribution in the central region of Hydra I. Radial velocities of 118 bright globular clusters, based on VLT/VIMOS mask spectroscopy, are used to calculate velocity dispersions which are well defined out to 100 kpc. NGC 3311 is the most distant galaxy for which this kind of study has been performed. We also determine velocity dispersions of the stellar component from long slit spectroscopy out to 20 kpc. Moreov…