Abstract
In recent years, warm dark matter models have been studied as a viable alternative to the cold dark matter models. The warm dark matter particle properties are expected to imprint distinct signatures on the structure formation at both large and small scales and there have been many attempts to study these properties with numerical simulations. In this paper, we review and update on warm dark matter simulation studies from the past two decades and their most significant results: structure formation mechanisms, halos evolution, sizes and distribution, and internal structure properties. We discuss the theoretical assumptions and the limitations of the methods employed. In this context, several controversial claims are scrutinized in the attempt to clarify these confusing and sometimes even contradictory conclusions in the numerical simulation literature. We address the circumstances in which a promising keV dark matter candidate should be properly treated in the simulations.
Highlights
We review the research done in warm dark matter simulations spanning over two decades and what it teaches us about the warm dark matter candidates
An example of how the linear power spectrum cutoff dampens the small scales power for several warm dark matter masses is given by [22] in their Figure 2 with respect to the cold dark matter power spectrum for a fully thermalized particle; The smaller the mass of the particle is, the more the power is damped at small scales, which results in a suppression of smaller mass halos
While providing an important tool to test some of these effects, have a long way to go in describing accurately some of the warm dark matter properties and their influence on structure formation and evolution
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The complex properties of the warm dark matter candidates are expected to manifest at various scales—from large-scale structure to internal structure of galaxies—into detectable features that will allow for a more comprehensive picture of dark matter and a better understanding of the observations Many times these properties are inaccurately described in simulations, and the results appear confusing and even contradictory. We will see how the results from the simulations are not accurate in giving a strong constraint on the mass of the warm dark matter particle in the absence of a universal particle physics model [16,17] They can act, as an important tool for describing the qualitative differences between several models at both large and small scales, and they can provide hints of where these qualitative differences should be further investigated [16,17].
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