Flattening of Dark Matter Cusps during Mergers: Model of M31

Abstract

Abstract We run high-resolution fully GPU N-body simulations to demonstrate that the dark matter (DM) 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 the accretion of a satellite on a highly eccentric orbit heats up the central parts of M31, causes an outward migration of DM particles, flattens the central cusp over more than a decade in scale, and generates a new model-independent DM profile that is well fitted by a core. Our results imply that core-like central profiles could be a common feature of massive galaxies that have been initially cuspy but have accreted satellites on nearly radial orbits.