Modified dark matter: Relating dark energy, dark matter and baryonic matter

Abstract

Modified dark matter (MDM) is a phenomenological model of dark matter, inspired by gravitational thermodynamics. For an accelerating universe with positive cosmological constant ([Formula: see text]), such phenomenological considerations lead to the emergence of a critical acceleration parameter related to [Formula: see text]. Such a critical acceleration is an effective phenomenological manifestation of MDM, and it is found in correlations between dark matter and baryonic matter in galaxy rotation curves. The resulting MDM mass profiles, which are sensitive to [Formula: see text], are consistent with observational data at both the galactic and cluster scales. In particular, the same critical acceleration appears both in the galactic and cluster data fits based on MDM. Furthermore, using some robust qualitative arguments, MDM appears to work well on cosmological scales, even though quantitative studies are still lacking. Finally, we comment on certain nonlocal aspects of the quanta of modified dark matter, which may lead to novel nonparticle phenomenology and which may explain why, so far, dark matter detection experiments have failed to detect dark matter particles.