Galaxy rotation curves from general relativity with renormalization group corrections

Abstract

We consider the application of quantum corrections computed using renormalization group arguments in the astrophysical domain and show that, for the most natural interpretation of the renormalization group scale parameter, a gravitational coupling parameter G varying 10−7 of its value across a galaxy (which is roughly a variation of 10−12 per light-year) is sufficient to generate galaxy rotation curves in agreement with the observations. The quality of the resulting fit is similar to the Isothermal profile quality once both the shape of the rotation curve and the mass-to-light ratios are considered for evaluation. In order to perform the analysis, we use recent high quality data from nine regular disk galaxies. For the sake of comparison, the same set of data is modeled also for the Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) and for the recently proposed Scalar Tensor Vector Gravity (STVG). At face value, the model based on quantum corrections clearly leads to better fits than these two alternative theories.