The fuzzy dark matter model (FDM, also known as quantum wave dark matter model) argues that light bosons with a mass of $\sim10^{-22}{\;{\rm eV}}$ are a possible candidate for dark matter in the Universe. One of the most important predictions of FDM is the formation of a soliton core instead of a density cusp at the center of galaxies. If FDM is the correct theory of dark matter, then the predicted soliton core can help to form the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) in the Milky Way. We present high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of gas flow patterns to constrain the properties of the soliton core based on a realistic Milky Way potential. We find that a dense center is required to form a reasonable CMZ. The size and kinematics of the CMZ offer a relatively strong constraint on the inner enclosed mass profile of the Galaxy. If a soliton core is not considered, a compact nuclear bulge alone with a radially varying mass-to-light ratio can match the observed size and kinematics of the CMZ. A soliton core model with a mass of $\approx4.0\times10^8{\; {\rm M}_{\odot}}$ and a core radius of $\approx0.05{\;{\rm kpc}}$, together with a less massive nuclear bulge with a constant mass-to-light ratio, also agrees nicely with the current data. Such a FDM soliton core corresponds to a boson mass of $\sim2-7\times10^{-22}{\;{\rm eV}}$, which could be further constrained by the improved determination of the mass-to-light ratio in the Galactic center.
We present a novel method to constrain the mass of ultra-light bosons as the dark matter using stellar streams formed by disrupting Globular Clusters in the Milky Way. The turbulent density field of Fuzzy Dark Matter (FDM) haloes results in perturbations and dynamical heating of thin streams. Using numerical simulations based on an effective model, we explore the magnitude of this phenomenon and show that this is observable for the range of axion masses $m_a$ that is interesting for alleviating the `small-scale problems' of $Λ$CDM. We derive an analytical model for the thickening of thin stell…
Fuzzy Dark Matter (FDM) is one of the recent models for dark matter. According to this model, dark matter is made of very light scalar particles with considerable quantum mechanical effects on the galactic scale, which solves many problems of the cold dark matter (CDM). Here we use the observed data from the rotation curve of the Milky Way (MW) Galaxy to compare the results from FDM and CDM models. We show FDM adds a local peak on the rotation curve close to the center of the bulge, where its position and amplitude depend on the mass of FDM particles. By fitting the observed rotation curve wit…
Although highly successful on cosmological scales, Cold Dark Matter (CDM) models predict unobserved over-dense `cusps' in dwarf galaxies and overestimate their formation rate. We consider an ultra-light axion-like scalar boson which promises to reduce these observational discrepancies at galactic scales. The model, known as Fuzzy Dark Matter (FDM), avoids cusps, suppresses small-scale power, and delays galaxy formation via macroscopic quantum pressure. We compare the substructure and density fluctuations of galactic dark matter haloes comprised of ultra-light axions to conventional CDM results…
We perform a numerical comparison between the fuzzy dark matter model and the cold dark matter model, focusing on formation of satellite galaxy planes around massive galaxies. Such galactic dynamics with controlled initial subhalo configurations are investigated using GADGET2 for the cold dark matter and PyUltraLight for the fuzzy dark matter, respectively. We demonstrate that satellite galaxies in the fuzzy dark matter side have a tendency to form more flattened and corotating satellite systems than in the cold dark matter side mainly due to the dissipation by the gravitational cooling effect…
In this paper, we have investigated one of the alternative theories to dark matter named MOdified Gravity (MOG) by testing its ability to describe the local dynamics of the Milky Way in vertical and transverse directions with the baryonic matter. MOG is designed to interpret the dynamics of galaxies and cluster of galaxies without the need for dark matter. We use local observational data such as the vertical dispersion, rotation curve, surface density and number density of stars in the Milky Way to obtained the parameters of MOG and the baryonic component of MW by implementing a Bayesian appro…
Recent analyses of the Pal 5 and GD-1 tidal streams suggest that the inner dark matter halo of the Milky Way is close to spherical, in tension with predictions from collisionless N-body simulations of cosmological structure formation. We use the Eris simulation to test whether the combination of dissipative physics and hierarchical structure formation can produce Milky Way-like galaxies whose dark matter halos match the tidal stream constraints from the GD-1 and Pal 5 clusters. We use a dynamical model of the simulated Eris galaxy to generate many realizations of the GD-1 and Pal 5 tidal strea…
We test a Yukawa correction to the Newtonian potential, making use of our own Galaxy - the Milky Way - as a testbed. We include as free parameter the Yukawa strength and range and the dark matter profile parameters, and compare several morphologies for the bulge, gas, and disk components, also using Bayesian model selection criteria. We employ up-to-date datasets for both the visible (baryonic) component of the Milky Way, and for the tracers of the gravitational potential (the Rotation Curve). We find that the data are consistent with the Newtonian potential, and constrain the Yukawa coupling …
Recently, the Cubic Galileon Gravity (CGG) model has been suggested as an alternative gravity theory to General Relativity. The model consists of an extra field potential term which can serve as the `fifth-force'. In this article, we examine the possibility whether this extra force term can explain the missing mass problem in galaxies without the help of dark matter. By using the Milky Way rotation curve and the Spitzer Photomery & Accurate Rotation Curves (SPARC) data, we show that this CGG model can satisfactorily explain the shapes of these rotation curves without dark matter. The CGG model…
We perform a test of John Moffat's Modified Gravity theory (MOG) within the Milky Way, adopting the well known "Rotation Curve" method. We use the dynamics of observed tracers within the disk to determine the gravitational potential as a function of galactocentric distance, and compare that with the potential that is expected to be generated by the visible component only (stars and gas) under different "flavors" of the MOG theory, making use of a state-of-the-art setup for both the observed tracers and baryonic morphology. Our analysis shows that in both the original and the modified version (…
We study how the indirect observation of dark matter substructures in the Milky Way, using recent stellar stream studies, translates into constraints for different dark matter models. Particularly, we use the measured number of dark subhalos in the mass range $10^7-10^9\,{\rm M_{\odot}}$ to constrain modifications of the subhalo mass function compared to the cold dark matter scenario. We obtain the lower bounds $m_{\rm WDM} > 3.2\,{\rm keV}$ and $m_{\rm FDM} > 5.2\times 10^{-21}\,{\rm eV}$ on the warm dark matter and fuzzy dark matter particle mass, respectively. When dark matter is coupled to…
We explore the effect of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) on the density profile of a fuzzy dark matter (FDM) soliton core at the centre of a dark matter halo. We numerically solve the Schrödinger-Poisson equations, treating the black hole as a gravitational point mass, and demonstrate that this additional perturbing term has a `squeezing' effect on the soliton density profile, decreasing the core radius and increasing the central density. In the limit of large black hole mass, the solution approaches one akin to the hydrogen atom, with radius inversely proportional to the black hole mass. By …
We study tidal stripping of fuzzy dark matter (FDM) subhalo cores using simulations of the Schrödinger-Poisson equations and analyze the dynamics of tidal disruption, highlighting the differences with standard cold dark matter. Mass loss outside of the tidal radius forces the core to relax into a less compact configuration, lowering the tidal radius. As the characteristic radius of a solitonic core scales inversely with its mass, tidal stripping results in a runaway effect and rapid tidal disruption of the core once its central density drops below $4.5$ times the average density of the host wi…
Galactic rotation curves are often considered the first robust evidence for the existence of dark matter. However, even in the presence of a dark matter halo, other galactic-scale observations, such as the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation and the Radial Acceleration Relation, remain challenging to explain. This has motivated long-distance, infrared modifications to gravity as an alternative to the dark matter hypothesis as well as various DM theories with similar phenomenology. In general, the standard lore has been that any model that reduces to the phenomenology of MOdified Newtonian Dynamics …
We perform a comprehensive study of Milky Way (MW) satellite galaxies to constrain the fundamental properties of dark matter (DM). This analysis fully incorporates inhomogeneities in the spatial distribution and detectability of MW satellites and marginalizes over uncertainties in the mapping between galaxies and DM halos, the properties of the MW system, and the disruption of subhalos by the MW disk. Our results are consistent with the cold, collisionless DM paradigm and yield the strongest cosmological constraints to date on particle models of warm, interacting, and fuzzy dark matter. At $95…
The fuzzy dark matter (FDM) model treats DM as a bosonic field with astrophysically large de Broglie wavelength. A striking feature of this model is $\mathcal{O}(1)$ fluctuations in the dark matter density on time scales which are shorter than the gravitational timescale. Including for the first time the effect of core oscillations, we demonstrate how such fluctuations lead to heating of star clusters, and thus an increase in their size over time. From the survival of the old star cluster in Eridanus II we infer $m_a\gtrsim 0.6\rightarrow 1\times 10^{-19}\text{ eV}$ within modelling uncertaint…
While the Milky Way Nuclear star cluster has been studied extensively, how it formed is uncertain. Studies have shown it contains a solar and supersolar metallicity population that may have formed in-situ, along with a subsolar metallicity population that may have formed via mergers of globular clusters and dwarf galaxies. Stellar abundance measurements are critical to differentiate between formation scenarios. We present new measurements of [$M/H$] and $α$-element abundances [$α/Fe$] of two subsolar-metallicity stars in the Galactic Center. These observations were taken with the adaptive-opti…
We present a suite of galaxy formation simulations that directly model star cluster formation and disruption. Starting from a model previously developed by our group, here we introduce several improvements to the prescriptions for cluster formation and feedback, then test these updates using a large suite of cosmological simulations of Milky Way mass galaxies. We perform a differential analysis with the goal of understanding how each of the updates affects star cluster populations. Two key parameters are the momentum boost of supernova feedback $f_{\mathrm{boost}}$ and star formation efficienc…
Fuzzy Dark Matter and the Impact of Core--Halo Diversity on Its Particle Mass Constraints
Astronomical Institute, Tohoku University（东北大学天体物理研究所）；National Institute of Technology, Sendai College（国立仙台工业高等专门学校）；ICRR, The University of Tokyo（东京大学宇宙线研究所）；Kavli IPMU (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo（东京大学 Kavli 宇宙物质起源与演化国际卓越中心（WPI），UTIAS）
We examine the viability of Weyl conformal gravity as an alternative to the general theory of relativity. By using the extended rotation curve of the Milky Way and velocity dispersions of four globular clusters, we show that Weyl gravity predictions without resorting to dark matter comply with observations at the galactic scale. For the Milky Way, we demonstrate that the uncertainty in baryonic modelling results a bracket of possible rotational velocities which well encompasses the diversity in rotation curve construction. Such diversity generally arises from differences in measurements of vel…
Binary-single and binary-binary encounters play a pivotal role in the evolution of star clusters, as they may lead to the disruption or hardening of binaries, a novel prediction of the Hills-Heggie law. Based on our recent {\it Chandra} survey of Galactic globular clusters (GCs), we revisit the role of stellar dynamical interactions in GCs, focusing on main-sequence (MS) binary encounters as a potential formation channel of the observed X-ray sources in GCs. We show that the cumulative X-ray luminosity ($L_X$), a proxy of the total number of X-ray-emitting binaries (primarily cataclysmic varia…
We present a non-parametric reconstruction of the rotation curves (RC) for 88 spiral galaxies under the LOESS+SIMEX technique. In order to compare methods we also perform the parametric approach assuming core and cuspy dark matter (DM) profiles: PISO, NFW, Burkert, Spano, the soliton and two fuzzy soliton$+$NFW. As result of this two approaches, a comparison of the RC obtained is carried out by computing the distance between central curves and the distance between 1$σ$ error bands. Furthermore, we perform a model selection according to two statistical criteria, the BIC and the value of $χ^2_{r…
Flat rotation curves in disk galaxies represent the main evidence for large amounts of surrounding dark matter. Despite of the difficulty in identifying the dark matter contribution to the total mass density in our Galaxy, stellar kinematics, as tracer of gravitational potential, is the most reliable observable for gauging different matter components. This work tests the flatness of the MW rotation curve with a simple general relativistic model suitable to represent the geometry of a disk as a stationary axisymmetric dust metric at a sufficiently large distance from a central body. Circular ve…
Ultralight axion-like particles $m_a \sim 10^{-22}$ eV, or Fuzzy Dark Matter (FDM), behave comparably to cold dark matter (CDM) on cosmological scales and exhibit a kpc-size de Broglie wavelength capable of alleviating established (sub-)galactic-scale problems of CDM. Substructures inside an FDM halo incur gravitational potential perturbations, resulting in stellar heating sufficient to account for the Galactic disc thickening over a Hubble time, as first demonstrated by Church et al. We present a more sophisticated treatment that incorporates the full baryon and dark matter distributions of t…
Luminous Satellites versus Dark Subhaloes: Clustering in the Milky Way
观测到的银河系卫星星系群为小尺度上的星系形成理论提供了一个独特的试验场。我们的新方法是调查已知的银河系卫星星系的集群和量化的数量的子结构内的分布使用两点关联函数统计在三个空间：配置空间，视线速度空间，和四维相空间。这些结果进行了比较的三套subhaloes在通过Lactea II冷暗物质模拟定义为代表发光的矮星。我们没有发现任何证据在一个显着性水平以上的2西格玛的子结构内的银河系卫星星系的分布在任何三个空间。在四维相空间中，在所有三个空间和更广泛的尺度范围内，“发光”的次晕集合比银河系卫星更强烈地聚集在一起。每个“发光”的subhalo集聚类的结果，其视线内的速度空间分布的子结构在大于3西格玛的意义，而银河系的卫星星系是随机分布在视线的速度空间。虽然我们的比较是只有一个冷暗物质模拟，银河系卫星星系和所有聚类方法的Via Lactea II subhalo集之间的不一致性表明冷暗物质理论和观测到的银河系卫星之间存在潜在的新的“小尺度”紧张关系。未来的工作将通过研究额外的模拟来获得观测到的银河系卫星和冷暗物质理论之间更可靠的比较。
DELVE-ing into the Milky Way's Globular Clusters: Assessing extra-tidal features in NGC 5897, NGC 7492, and testing detectability with deeper photometry
Milky Way Near Twins (MWNeTs). I. A Hierarchical Framework for Identifying Candidate Evolutionary Counterparts of the Milky Way
Main Astronomical Observatory of the NAS of Ukraine（乌克兰国家科学院主天文台）；Institute of Astronomy, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University（瓦·尼·卡拉金哈尔科夫国立大学天体物理研究所）；International Centre for Astronomical, Medical, and Ecological Research, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine（乌克兰国家科学院国际天文、医学和生态研究中心）
The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is a ring-like accumulation of molecular gas in the innermost few hundred parsecs of the Milky Way, generated by the inward transport of matter driven by the Galactic bar. The CMZ is the most extreme star-forming environment in the Galaxy. The unique combination of large-scale dynamics and extreme interstellar medium conditions, characterised by high densities, temperatures, pressures, turbulent motions, and strong magnetic fields, make the CMZ an ideal region for testing current star and planet formation theories. We review the recent observational and theoret…
A period of quenching between the formation of the thick and thin disks of the Milky Way has been recently proposed to explain the observed age-[α/Fe] distribution of stars in the solar neighbourhood. However, robust constraints on stellar ages are currently available for only a limited number of stars. The all-sky survey TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) will observe the brightest stars in the sky and thus can be used to investigate the age distributions of stars in these components of the Galaxy via asteroseismology, where previously this has been difficult using other techniques.…
The Milky Way (MW) is surrounded by a Vast Polar Structure (VPOS) of satellite galaxies, star clusters, and streams. Proper motion measurements for the brightest MW satellites indicate that they are predominantly co-orbiting along the VPOS. This is consistent with a dynamically stable structure. Assuming that all satellites that are aligned with the VPOS also co-orbit along this structure allows to empirically predict their systemic proper motions. Testing predictions for individual satellite galaxies at large distances requires high-accuracy proper motion measurements such as with the Hubble …
We perform an extensive review of the numerous studies and methods used to determine the total mass of the Milky Way. We group the various methods into seven broad classes, including: i) estimating Galactic escape velocity using high velocity objects; ii) measuring the rotation curve through terminal and circular velocities; iii) modeling halo stars, globular clusters and satellite galaxies with the Spherical Jeans equation and iv) with phase-space distribution functions; v) simulating and modeling the dynamics of stellar streams and their progenitors; vi) modeling the motion of the Milky Way,…
We present the WiFeS Atlas of Galactic Globular cluster Spectra, a library of integrated spectra of Milky Way and Local Group globular clusters. We used the WiFeS integral field spectrograph on the Australian National University 2.3 m telescope to observe the central regions of 64 Milky Way globular clusters and 22 globular clusters hosted by the Milky Way's low mass satellite galaxies. The spectra have wider wavelength coverage (3300 Å to 9050 Å) and higher spectral resolution (R = 6800) than existing spectral libraries of Milky Way globular clusters. By including Large and Small Magellanic C…
The dark matter distribution in dwarf galaxies holds a wealth of information on the fundamental properties and interactions of the dark matter particle. In this paper, we study whether ultralight bosonic dark matter is consistent with the gravitational potential extracted from stellar kinematics. We use velocity dispersion measurements to constrain models for halo mass and particle mass. The posterior likelihood is multimodal. Particle masses of order $m\sim 10^{-22} {\rm{eV}}$ require halos of mass in excess of $\sim 10^{10} M_\odot$, while particle mass of order $m \gtrsim 10^{-20}{\rm{eV}}$…
University of California, San Diego（加州大学圣地亚哥分校）；University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science（卡内基科学研究所天文台）
The spatial distribution of Milky Way (MW) subhaloes provides an important set of observables for testing cosmological models. These include the radial distribution of luminous satellites, planar configurations, and the abundance of dark subhaloes whose existence or absence is key to distinguishing amongst dark matter models. We use the COCO $N$-body simulations of cold dark matter (CDM) and 3.3keV thermal relic warm dark matter (WDM) to predict the satellite spatial distribution in the limit that the impact of baryonic physics is minimal. We demonstrate that the radial distributions of CDM an…
How well can we unravel the accreted constituents of the Milky Way stellar halo? A test on cosmological hydrodynamical simulations
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias（加那利天体物理研究所）；Universidad de La Laguna（拉各拉纳大学）；Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University（利物浦约翰摩尔斯大学天体物理研究所）
We study the spontaneous generation and evolution of bending waves in $N$-body simulations of two isolated Milky Way-like galaxy models. The models differ by their disc-to-halo mass ratios, and hence by their susceptibility to the formation of a bar and spiral structure. Seeded from shot noise in the particle distribution, bending waves rapidly form in both models and persist for many billions of years. Waves at intermediate radii manifest as corrugated structures in vertical position and velocity that are tightly wound, morphologically leading, and dominated by the $m=1$ azimuthal Fourier com…
