Two mysterious universal dark matter–baryon relations in galaxies and galaxy clusters

Abstract

Starting from the 1970s, some relations connecting dark matter and baryons were discovered, such as the Tully–Fisher relation. However, many of the relations found in galaxies are quite different from that found in galaxy clusters. Here, we report two new mysterious universal relations connecting dark matter and baryons in both galaxies and galaxy clusters. The first relation indicates that the total dynamical mass of a galaxy or a galaxy cluster M500 has a power-law relation with its total baryonic mass Mb within the ‘virial region’: M500∝Mba, with a≈3/4. The second relation indicates that the enclosed dynamical mass Md is almost directly proportional to the baryonic mass for galaxies and galaxy clusters within the central baryonic region: Md∝Mb. The close relations between dark matter and baryons in both galaxies and galaxy clusters suggest that some unknown interaction or interplay except gravity might exist between dark matter and baryons.