Dark Matter Density Profile Research Articles

MaNGA DynPop – VI. Matter density slopes from dynamical models of 6000 galaxies versus cosmological simulations: the interplay between baryonic and dark matter

ABSTRACT We try to understand the trends in the mass density slopes as a function of galaxy properties. We use the results from the best Jeans Anisotropic Modelling (JAM) of the integral-field stellar kinematics for near 6000 galaxies from the MaNGA DynPop project, with stellar masses $10^9\ {\rm {\rm M}_{\odot }}\lesssim M_*\lesssim 10^{12}\ {\rm {\rm M}_{\odot }}$, including both early-type and late-type galaxies. We use the mass-weighted density slopes for the stellar $\overline{\gamma }_*$, dark $\overline{\gamma }_{_{\rm DM}}$ and total $\overline{\gamma }_{_{\rm T}}$ mass from the MaNGA DynPop project. As previously reported, $\overline{\gamma }_{_{\rm T}}$ approaches a constant value of $\overline{\gamma }_{_{\rm T}}\approx 2.2$ for high σe galaxies, and flattens for $\lg (\sigma _{\rm e}/{\rm km\ s^{-1}})\lesssim 2.3$ galaxies, reaching $\overline{\gamma }_{_{\rm T}}\approx 1.5$ for $\lg (\sigma _{\rm e}/{\rm km\ s^{-1}})\approx 1.8$. We find that total and stellar slopes track each other tightly, with $\overline{\gamma }_{_{\rm T}}\approx \overline{\gamma }_*-0.174$ over the full σe range. This confirms the dominance of stellar matter within Re. We also show that there is no perfect conspiracy between baryonic and dark matter, as $\overline{\gamma }_*$ and $\overline{\gamma }_{_{\rm DM}}$ do not vary inversely within the σe range. We find that the central galaxies from TNG50 and TNG100 simulations do not reproduce the observed galaxy mass distribution, which we attribute to the overestimated dark matter fraction, possibly due to a constant IMF and excessive adiabatic contraction effects in the simulations. Finally, we present the stacked dark matter density profiles and show that they are slightly steeper than the pure dark matter simulation prediction of $\overline{\gamma }_{_{\rm DM}}\approx 1$, suggesting moderate adiabatic contraction in the central region of galaxies. Our work demonstrates the power of stellar dynamics modelling for probing the interaction between stellar and dark matter and testing galaxy formation theories.

EDGE – Dark matter or astrophysics? Breaking dark matter heating degeneracies with H i rotation in faint dwarf galaxies

ABSTRACT Low-mass dwarf galaxies are expected to reside within dark matter haloes that have a pristine, ‘cuspy’ density profile within their stellar half-light radii. This is because they form too few stars to significantly drive dark matter heating through supernova-driven outflows. Here, we study such simulated faint systems ($10^4 \le M_{\star }\le 2 \times 10^6 \, \mbox{M}_\mathrm{\odot }$) drawn from high-resolution (3 pc) cosmological simulations from the ‘Engineering Dwarf Galaxies at the Edge of galaxy formation’ (EDGE) project. We confirm that these objects have steep and rising inner dark matter density profiles at z = 0, little affected by galaxy formation effects. But five dwarf galaxies from the suite also showcase a detectable H i reservoir ($M_{\mathrm{H\, {\small I} }}\approx 10^{5}-10^{6} \, \mbox{M}_\mathrm{\odot }$), analogous to the observed population of faint, H i-bearing dwarf galaxies. These reservoirs exhibit episodes of ordered rotation, opening windows for rotation curve analysis. Within actively star-forming dwarfs, stellar feedback easily disrupts the tenuous H i discs ($v_{\phi , g}\approx 10\, \mathrm{km} \, \mathrm{s}^{-1}$), making rotation short-lived ($\ll 150 \, \mathrm{Myr}$) and more challenging to interpret for dark matter inferences. In contrast, we highlight a long-lived ($\ge 500 \, \mathrm{Myr}$) and easy-to-interpret H i rotation curve extending to $\approx 2\, r_{1/2, \text{3D}}$ in a quiescent dwarf, that has not formed new stars since z = 4. This stable gas disc is supported by an oblate dark matter halo shape that drives high-angular momentum gas flows. Our results strongly motivate further searches for H i in rotation curves in the observed population of H i-bearing low-mass dwarfs, that provide a key regime to disentangle the respective roles of dark matter microphysics and galaxy formation effects in driving dark matter heating.

Rotating black holes surrounded by a dark matter halo in the galactic center of M87 and Sgr A[formula omitted]

In this paper, we construct the solutions of modified Schwarzschild spacetime with three kinds of dark matter profiles, i.e. the Beta profiles, Moore profiles and Fermionic halos profiles. In order to make the models more realistic, by using the modified Newman–Janis algorithm (MNJA), we extend our solution to obtain three rotating black holes surrounded by dark matter halo and discuss the black hole properties such as the event horizon, ergoregion, geodesics of null particles and the black hole shadow. We consider two specific examples, i.e. using the present values for the parameters of the dark matter density profiles for the Sgr A∗ black hole and M87 central black hole, it shows that the effects of the dark matter on the size of shadows are almost negligible compared to the shadow of Kerr black hole. Besides, in specific condition having dark matter with very high density, we show that the shadow images of Beta model rotating black hole increase, but the shadow images of Moore model and Fermionic model rotating black holes decrease, furthermore, the Moore profile has the largest deviation, the Beta profile has the least deviation and the deviation of Fermionic halo model is in the middle. These phenomena may provides us with a possibility: the effect of dark matter on the apparent shadow shape could shed some light on mass density profiles of dark matter halo of a galaxy, by studying black holes in dark matter, it may provide an inspiration for us to indirectly detect dark matter.

Examining baryonic Faber–Jackson relation in galaxy groups

ABSTRACT We investigate the baryonic Faber–Jackson relation (BFJR), examining the correlation between baryonic mass and velocity dispersion in galaxy groups and clusters. Originally analysed in elliptical galaxies, the BFJR is derivable from the empirical radial acceleration relation (RAR) and MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), both showcasing a characteristic acceleration scale $\mathrm{g}_\mathrm{\dagger }=1.2\times 10^{-10}\, \mathrm{m}\, \mathrm{s}^{-2}$. Recent interpretations within MOND suggest that galaxy group dynamics can be explained solely by baryonic mass, hinting at a BFJR with g† in these systems. To explore this BFJR, we combined X-ray and optical measurements for 6 galaxy clusters and 13 groups, calculating baryonic masses by combining X-ray gas and stellar mass estimates. Simultaneously, we computed spatially resolved velocity dispersion profiles from membership data using the biweight scale in radial bins. Our results indicate that the BFJR in galaxy groups, using total velocity dispersion, aligns with MOND predictions. Conversely, galaxy clusters exhibit a parallel BFJR with a larger acceleration scale. Analysis using tail velocity dispersion in galaxy groups shows a leftward deviation from the BFJR. Additionally, stacked velocity dispersion profiles reveal two distinct types: declining and flat, based on two parallel BFJRs. The declining profile, if not due to the anisotropy parameters or the incomplete membership, suggests a deviation from standard dark matter (DM) density profiles. We further identify three galaxy groups with unusually low DM fractions.

Dark matter supporting traversable wormholes in the Galactic halo

We study the Morris-Thorne traversable asymptotically flat and non-flat wormholes in the galactic halo of the Milky Way Galaxy(MWG) based on the Einasto dark matter(DM) density profile. Our reported shape function is positive and increasing in nature, moreover, satisfies all the essential wormhole representing conditions i.e. the reported shape function forms wormhole like structures in the galactic halo region of the MWG. Furthermore, the wormhole containing the DM candidate of the halo shelters wormholes by violating the null energy condition(NEC) with respect to three different redshift functions. The wormholes, namely, WH1 and WH2 corresponding to the first two choices of redshift functions are asymptotically flat while the WH3 corresponding to the third choice of redshift function is asymptotically non-flat. We, here, also analyze the ANEC violating matter content, embedding surface, and proper radial distance for our solutions.

A full reconstruction of two galaxy clusters intra-cluster medium with strong gravitational lensing

ABSTRACT Whilst X-rays and Sunyaev–Zel’dovich observations allow to study the properties of the intra-cluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters, their gravitational potential may be constrained using strong gravitational lensing. Although being physically related, these two components are often described with different physical models. Here, we present a unified technique to derive the ICM properties from strong lensing for clusters in hydrostatic equilibrium. In order to derive this model, we present a new universal and self-similar polytropic temperature profile, which we fit using the X-COP sample of clusters. We subsequently derive an analytical model for the electron density, which we apply to strong lensing clusters MACS J0242.5-2132 and MACS J0949.8+1708. We confront the inferred ICM reconstructions to XMM-Newton and ACT observations. We contrast our analytical electron density reconstructions with the best canonical β-model. The ICM reconstructions obtained prove to be compatible with observations. However they appear to be very sensitive to various dark matter halo parameters constrained through strong lensing (such as the core radius), and to the halo scale radius (fixed in the lensing optimizations). With respect to the important baryonic effects, we make the sensitivity on the scale radius of the reconstruction an asset, and use the inferred potential to constrain the dark matter density profile using ICM observations. The technique here developed should allow to take a new, and more holistic path to constrain the content of galaxy clusters.

Baryon-induced Collapse of Dark Matter Cores into Supermassive Black Holes

Nonlinear structure formation for fermionic dark matter particles leads to dark matter density profiles with a degenerate compact core surrounded by a diluted halo. For a given fermion mass, the core has a critical mass that collapses into a supermassive black hole (SMBH). Galactic dynamics constraints suggest a ∼100 keV/c 2 fermion, which leads to ∼107 M ⊙ critical core mass. Here, we show that baryonic (ordinary) matter accretion drives an initially stable dark matter core to SMBH formation and determines the accreted mass threshold that induces it. Baryonic gas density ρ b and velocity v b inferred from cosmological hydrosimulations and observations produce sub-Eddington accretion rates triggering the baryon-induced collapse in less than 1 Gyr. This process produces active galactic nuclei in galaxy mergers and the high-redshift Universe. For TXS 2116–077, merging with a nearby galaxy, the observed 3 × 107 M ⊙ SMBH, for Qb=ρb/vb3=0.125M⊙/(100kms−1pc)3 , forms in ≈0.6 Gyr, consistent with the 0.5–2 Gyr merger timescale and younger jet. For the farthest central SMBH detected by the Chandra X-ray satellite in the z = 10.3 UHZ1 galaxy observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the mechanism leads to a 4 × 107 M ⊙ SMBH in 87–187 Myr, starting the accretion at z = 12–15. The baryon-induced collapse can also explain the ≈107–108 M ⊙ SMBHs revealed by JWST at z ≈ 4–6. After its formation, the SMBH can grow to a few 109 M ⊙ in timescales shorter than 1 Gyr via sub-Eddington baryonic mass accretion.

From particles to orbits: precise dark matter density profiles using dynamical information

ABSTRACT We introduce a new method to calculate dark matter halo density profiles from simulations. Each particle is ‘smeared’ over its orbit to obtain a dynamical profile that is averaged over a dynamical time, in contrast to the traditional approach of binning particles based on their instantaneous positions. The dynamical and binned profiles are in good agreement, with the dynamical approach showing a significant reduction in Poisson noise in the innermost regions. We find that the inner cusps of the new dynamical profiles continue inward all the way to the softening radius, reproducing the central density profile of higher resolution simulations within the 95 per cent confidence intervals, for haloes in virial equilibrium. Folding in dynamical information thus provides a new approach to improve the precision of dark matter density profiles at small radii, for minimal computational cost. Our technique makes two key assumptions that the halo is in equilibrium (phase mixed) and the potential is spherically symmetric. We discuss why the method is successful despite strong violations of spherical symmetry in the centres of haloes, and explore how substructures disturb equilibrium at large radii.

CLASH-VLT: The Inner Slope of the MACS J1206.2-0847 Dark Matter Density Profile

The inner slope (γ DM) of the dark matter (DM) density profile of cosmological halos carries information about the properties of DM and/or baryonic processes affecting the halo gravitational potential. Cold DM cosmological simulations predict steep inner slopes, γ DM ≃ 1. We test this prediction on the MACS J1206.2-0847 cluster at redshift z = 0.44, whose DM density profile has been claimed to be cored at the center. We determine the cluster DM density profile from 2 kpc from the cluster center to the virial radius (∼2 Mpc), using the velocity distribution of ≃500 cluster galaxies and the internal velocity dispersion profile of the Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG), obtained from VIMOS@VLT and MUSE@VLT data. We solve the Jeans equation of dynamical equilibrium using an upgraded version of the MAMPOSSt method. The total mass profile is modeled as a sum of a generalized Navarro–Frenk–White profile that describes the DM component, allowing for a free inner slope of the density profile, a Jaffe profile that describes the BCG stellar mass component, and a nonparametric baryonic profile that describes the sum of the remaining galaxy stellar mass and of the hot intra-cluster gas mass. Our total mass profile is in remarkable agreement with independent determinations based on X-ray observations and strong lensing. We find (68% confidence levels), consistent with predictions from recent Lambda cold dark matter cosmological numerical simulations.

Prospective dark matter annihilation signals from the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal

ABSTRACT The Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal galaxy (Sgr) is investigated as a target for dark matter (DM) annihilation searches utilizing J-factor distributions calculated directly from a high-resolution hydrodynamic simulation of the infall and tidal disruption of Sgr around the Milky Way. In contrast to past studies, the simulation incorporates DM, stellar and gaseous components for both the Milky Way and the Sgr progenitor galaxy. The simulated distributions account for significant tidal disruption affecting the DM density profile. Our estimate of the J-factor value for Sgr, JSgr = 1.48 × 1010 M$_\odot ^2$ kpc−5 (6.46 × 1016 GeV cm−5), is significantly lower than found in prior studies. This value, while formally a lower limit, is likely close to the true J-factor value for Sgr. It implies a DM cross-section incompatibly large in comparison with existing constraints would be required to attribute recently observed gamma-ray emission from Sgr to DM annihilation. We also calculate a J-factor value using a NFW profile fitted to the simulated DM density distribution to facilitate comparison with past studies. This NFW J-factor value supports the conclusion that most past studies have overestimated the dark matter density of Sgr on small scales. This, together with the fact that the Sgr has recently been shown to emit gamma-rays of astrophysical origin, complicate the use of Sgr in indirect DM detection searches.

Relativistic model of anisotropic star with Bose–Einstein density depiction

In this article, we present a new model for anisotropic compact stars confined to physical dark matter (DM) based on the Bose–Einstein DM density profile and a bag model type equation of state (EoS). The obtained solutions are physically well-behaved and represent the physical and stable matter configuration by satisfying the energy conditions, causality conditions, and essential conditions on the stability factor and adiabatic index. The solutions supporting the matter sphere are in an equilibrium state by satisfying the generalized TOV equation. We also find the surface redshift, compactness parameter at the surface, maximum mass, and interestingly, all these values are under the desired range that makes our solution more physically viable. Here, the radially symmetric profiles of energy density, radial and transverse pressures are demonstrated.

Minimally deformed anisotropic stars in dark matter halos under EGB-action

In this paper, we introduce an anisotropic model using a dark matter (DM) density profile in Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet (EGB) gravity using a gravitational decoupling method introduced by Ovalle (Phys Rev D 95:104019, 2017), which has provided an innovative approach for obtaining solutions to the EGB field equations for the spherically symmetric structure of stellar bodies. The Tolman and Finch–Skea (TFS) solutions of two metric potentials, g_{tt} and g_{rr}, have been used to construct the seed solution. Additionally, the presence of DM in DM halos distorts spacetime, causing perturbations in the g_{rr} metric potential, where the quantity of DM is determined by the decoupling parameter beta . The physical validity of the solution, along with stability and equilibrium analysis, has also been performed. Along with stability and equilibrium analysis, the solution’s physical validity has also been examined. Additionally, we have shown how both constants affect the physical characteristics of the solution. Using a M{-}R diagram, it has been described how the DM component and the GB constant affect the maximum permissible masses and their corresponding radii for various compact objects. Our model predicts the masses beyond the 2~M_{odot } and maximum radii 11.92^{+0.02}_{-0.01} and 12.83^{+0.01}_{-0.02} for larger value of alpha under density order 10^{15}~text {g}/text {cm}^3 and 10^{14}~text {g}/text {cm}^3, respectively, while the radii become 11.96^{+0.01}_{-0.01} and 12.81^{+0.01}_{-0.02} for larger value of beta .

Exploring dark matter spike distribution around the Galactic centre with stellar orbits

ABSTRACT Precise measurements of the stellar orbits around Sagittarius A* have established the existence of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the Galactic centre (GC). Due to the interplay between the SMBH and dark matter (DM), the DM density profile in the innermost region of the Galaxy, which is crucial for the DM indirect detection, is still an open question. Among the most popular models in the literature, the theoretical spike profile proposed by Gondolo & Silk (GS hereafter) is well adopted. In this work, we investigate the DM spike profile using updated data from the Keck and Very Large Telescope (VLT) telescopes considering that the presence of such an extended mass component may affect the orbits of the S-stars in the GC. We examine the radius and slope of the generalized Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) spike profile, analyse the Einasto spike, and discuss the influence of DM annihilation on the results. Our findings indicate that an initial slope of γ ≳ 0.92 for the generalized NFW spike profile is ruled out at a 95 per cent confidence level. Additionally, the spike radius Rsp larger than 21.5 pc is rejected at 95 per cent probability for the Einasto spike with α = 0.17, which also contradicts the GS spike model. The constraints with the VLT/GRAVITY upper limits are also projected. Although the GS NFW spike is well constrained by the Keck and VLT observation of S2, an NFW spike with a weak annihilation cusp may still be viable, as long as the DM annihilation cross-section satisfies $\left\langle \sigma v \right\rangle \gtrsim 7.7\times 10^{-27}~{\rm cm^3\, s^{-1}} (m_{\rm DM}/100~{\rm GeV})$ at 95 per cent level.

MaNGA DynPop – IV. Stacked total density profile of galaxy groups and clusters from combining dynamical models of integral-field stellar kinematics and galaxy–galaxy lensing

ABSTRACT We present the measurement of total and stellar/dark matter decomposed mass density profile around a sample of galaxy groups and clusters with dynamical masses derived from integral-field stellar kinematics from the MaNGA survey in Paper I and weak lensing derived from the DECaLS imaging survey. Combining the two data sets enables accurate measurement of the radial density distribution from several kpc to Mpc scales. Intriguingly, we find that the excess surface density derived from stellar kinematics in the inner region cannot be explained by simply adding an NFW dark matter halo extrapolated from lensing measurement at a larger scale to a stellar mass component derived from the NASA-Sloan Atlas (NSA) catalogue. We find that a good fit to both data sets requires a stellar mass normalization about three times higher than that derived from the NSA catalogue, which would require an unrealistically too-heavy initial mass function for stellar mass estimation. If we keep the stellar mass normalization to that of the NSA catalogue but allow a varying inner dark matter density profile, we obtain an asymptotic slope of γgnfw = $1.82_{-0.25}^{+0.15}$ and γgnfw = $1.48_{-0.41}^{+0.20}$ for the group bin and the cluster bin, respectively, significantly steeper than the NFW case. We also compare the total mass inner density slopes with those from TNG300 and find that the values from the simulation are lower than the observation by about 2σ level.

Dark matter halo mass functions and density profiles from mass and energy cascade

Halo abundance and structure play a central role for modeling structure formation and evolution. Without relying on a spherical or ellipsoidal collapse model, we analytically derive the halo mass function and cuspy halo density (inner slope of −4/3) based on the mass and energy cascade theory in dark matter flow. The hierarchical halo structure formation leads to halo or particle random walk with a position-dependent waiting time tau _g. First, the inverse mass cascade from small to large scales leads to the halo random walk in mass space with tau _gpropto m_h^{-lambda }, where m_h is the halo mass and lambda is a halo geometry parameter with predicted value of 2/3. The corresponding Fokker-Planck solution for halo random walk in mass space gives rise to the halo mass function with a power-law behavior on small scale and exponential decay on large scale. This can be further improved by considering two different lambda for haloes below and above a critical mass scale m_h^*, i.e. a double-lambda halo mass function. Second, a double-gamma density profile can be derived based on the particle random walk in 3D space with a position-dependent waiting time tau _g propto Phi (r)^{-1} propto r^{-gamma }, where Phi is the gravitational potential and r is the particle distance to halo center. Theory predicts gamma =2/3 that leads to a cuspy density profile with an inner slope of −4/3, consistent with the predicted scaling laws from energy cascade. The Press-Schechter mass function and Einasto density profile are just special cases of proposed models. The small scale permanence can be identified due to the scale-independent rate of mass and energy cascade, where density profiles of different halo masses and redshifts converge to the -4/3 scaling law (rho _h propto r^{-4/3}) on small scales. Theory predicts the halo number density scales with halo mass as propto m_h^{-1.9}, while the halo mass density scales as propto m_h^{4/9}. Results were compared against the Illustris simulations. This new perspective provides a theory for nearly universal halo mass functions and density profiles.

The MUSE-Faint survey

Aims. We use the stellar line-of-sight velocities of Antlia B (Ant B), a faint dwarf galaxy in the NGC 3109 association, to derive constraints on the fundamental properties of scalar field dark matter (SFDM), which was originally proposed to solve the small-scale problems faced by cold dark matter models. Methods. We used the first spectroscopic observations of Ant B, a distant (d ∼ 1.35 Mpc) faint dwarf (MV = −9.7, M⋆ ∼ 8 × 105 M⊙), from MUSE-Faint, a survey of ultra-faint dwarfs conducted using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer. By measuring the line-of-sight velocities of stars in the 1′×1′ field of view, we identified 127 stars as members of Ant B, which enabled us to model its dark matter density profile with the Jeans modelling code GRAVSPHERE. We implemented a model for SFDM into GRAVSPHERE and used this to place constraints on the self-coupling strength of this model. Results. We find a virial mass of M200 ≈ 1.66−0.92+2.51 × 109 M⊙ and a concentration parameter of c200 ≈ 17.38−4.20+6.06 for Ant B. These results are consistent with the mass-concentration relations in the literature. We constrain the characteristic length scale of the repulsive self-interaction RTF of the SFDM model to RTF ≲ 180 pc (68% confidence level), which translates to a self-coupling strength of g/m2c4 ≲ 5.2 × 10−20 eV−1 cm3. The constraint on the characteristic length scale of the repulsive self-interaction is inconsistent with the value required to match observations of the cores of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group, suggesting that the cored density profiles of those galaxies are not caused by SFDM.

H i 21cm observations and dynamical modelling of the thinnest galaxy: FGC 2366

ABSTRACT Superthin galaxies are bulgeless low-surface brightness galaxies with unusually high major-to-minor axes ratio of the stellar disc, i.e. 10 < a/b < 20. We present Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) H i 21cm radio-synthesis observations of FGC 2366, the thinnest galaxy known with a/b = 21.6. Employing the 3D tilted-ring modelling using fully automated TiRiFiC (fat), we determine the structure and kinematics of the H i gas disc, obtaining an asymptotic rotational velocity equal to 100 km s−1 and a total H i mass equal to 109M⊙. Using z-band stellar photometry, we obtain a central surface brightness of 22.8 mag arcsec−2, a disc scale length of 2.6 kpc, and a scale height of 260 pc. Next, we determine the dark matter density profile by constructing a mass model and find that an Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) dark matter halo best-fits the steeply rising rotation curve. With the above mass inventory in place, we finally construct the dynamical model of the stellar disc of FGC 2366 using the stellar dynamical code ‘agama’. To identify the key physical mechanisms responsible for the superthin vertical structure, we carry out a Principal Component Analysis of the data corresponding to all the relevant dynamical parameters and a/b for a sample of superthin and extremely thin galaxies studied so far. We note that the first two principal components explain 80 per cent of the variation in the data, and the significant contribution is from the compactness of the mass distribution, which is fundamentally responsible for the existence of superthin stellar discs.

Dark Matter Halo Properties of the Galactic Dwarf Satellites: Implication for Chemo-dynamical Evolution of the Satellites and a Challenge to Lambda Cold Dark Matter

Elucidating dark matter density profiles in Galactic dwarf satellites is essential to understanding not only the quintessence of dark matter, but also the evolution of the satellites themselves. In this work, we present the current constraints on dark matter densities in Galactic ultrafaint dwarf (UFD) and diffuse galaxies. Applying our constructed nonspherical mass models to the currently available kinematic data of the 25 UFDs and two diffuse satellites, we find that whereas most of the galaxies have huge uncertainties on the inferred dark matter density profiles, Eridanus II, Segue I, and Willman 1 favor cuspy central profiles even when considering effects of a prior bias. We compare our results with the simulated subhalos on the plane between the dark matter density at 150 pc and the pericenter distance. We find that the most observed satellites and the simulated subhalos are similarly distributed on this plane, except for Antlia 2, Crater 2, and Tucana 3, which are less than one-tenth of the density. Despite considerable tidal effects, the subhalos detected by commonly used subhalo finders have difficulty explaining such a huge deviation. We also estimate the dynamical mass-to-light ratios of the satellites and confirm the ratio is linked to stellar mass and metallicity. Tucana 3 deviates largely from these relations, while it follows the mass–metallicity relation. This indicates that Tucana 3 has a cored dark matter halo, despite a significant uncertainty in its ratios.

Towards detecting super-GeV dark matter via annihilation to neutrinos

The next generation of neutrino telescopes will feature unprecedented sensitivities in the detection of neutrinos. Here we study the capabilities of a large-scale neutrino telescope, like the fully-operating KM3NeT experiment in the near future, for detecting dark matter annihilation signals from the Galactic Centre.We consider both ORCA and ARCA detectors, covering dark matter masses from a few GeV to 100 TeV. We obtain the sensitivities with a maximum-likelihood analysis method and present them as upper limits in the thermally averaged annihilation cross-section into Standard Model fermions. Our projections show that the sensitivity of such a neutrino telescope can reach the thermal relic line for mχ ≳ 1 TeV and for mχ ≃ few GeV, for the NFW dark matter density profile. This demonstrates that ORCA- and ARCA-like detectors will be able to perform competitive dark matter searches in a wide range of masses. The implications of these striking projections are investigated in a few selected dark matter particle models, where we show that neutrino telescopes are able to probe new parameter space.

Thermalization, fragmentation, and tidal disruption: The complex galactic dynamics of dark matter superfluidity

The idea of self-interacting bosonic dark matter capable of exhibiting superfluidity is revisited. We show that the most interesting parameter space of the theory corresponds to fully thermalized dark matter halos. As a result the entire halo undergoes Bose-Einstein condensation due to high degeneracy. Since it is observationally preferable for the dark matter density profile to be similar to cold dark matter in the outskirts of the halo, we argue that the Jeans wavelength must be at least few times shorter than the virial radius. This entails that, upon condensation, a dark matter halo fragments into superfluid clumps. However, we demonstrate that these would-be solitons experience strong tidal disruption and behave as virialized weakly interacting streams. An exception is the central soliton, which can be as large as few tens of kiloparsecs in size without contradicting observational bounds. As a result, in dwarf galaxies, the observed rotation curves can be completely contained within the superfluid soliton. In this case, the dark matter distribution is expected to be strongly sensitive to the baryonic density profile. We argue that the diversity of rotation curves observed for dwarf galaxies is a natural consequence of the superfluid dark matter scenario.