Abstract
When dealing with galactic dynamics, or more specifically, with galactic rotation curves, one basic assumption is always taken: the frame of reference relative to which the rotational velocities are given is assumed to be inertial. In other words, fictitious forces are assumed to vanish relative to the observational frame of a given galaxy. It might be interesting, however, to explore the outcomes of dropping that assumption; that is, to search for signatures of non-inertial behavior in the observed data. In this work, we show that the very discrepancy in galaxy rotation curves could be attributed to non-inertial effects. We derive a model for spiral galaxies that takes into account the possible influence of fictitious forces and find that the additional terms in the new model, due to fictitious forces, closely resemble dark halo profiles. Following this result, we apply the new model to a wide sample of galaxies, spanning a large range of luminosities and radii. It turns out that the new model accurately reproduces the structures of the rotation curves and provides very good fittings to the data.
Highlights
One of the major tools to analyze the dynamics and mass distributions of disk galaxies is a Rotation Curve [1]
Two main approaches have been taken in order to deal with the discrepancy in galaxy rotation curves: changing the underlying laws of physics or adding more mass to the detectable mass distribution
In the scope of this work, we have shown that the different dynamics in the presence of inertial forces lead to corrected rotational velocities
Summary
One of the major tools to analyze the dynamics and mass distributions of disk galaxies is a Rotation Curve [1]. It is derived from the gravitational attraction of the visible matter alone. We show that by explicitly defining the frame, relative to which the observed rotational velocities are given, the possibility of the frame being non-inertial is revealed. Motivated by this insight, we derive a new model for the rotational velocities. It turns out that the contribution of the additional term to the rotational velocities is similar to the contribution of common dark halo profiles (e.g., NFW, Burkert) This surprising result might have implications other than those directly related to rotation curves.
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