Evolution Of Small-scale Structures Research Articles

Collapse of spherical overdensities in superfluid models of dark matter

Aims. We intend to understand cosmological structure formation within the framework of superfluid models of dark matter with finite temperatures. Of particular interest is the evolution of small-scale structures where the pressure and superfluid properties of the dark matter fluid are prominent. We compare the growth of structures in these models with the standard cold dark matter paradigm and non-superfluid dark matter. Methods. The equations for superfluid hydrodynamics were computed numerically in an expanding ΛCDM background with spherical symmetry; the effect of various superfluid fractions, temperatures, interactions, and masses on the collapse of structures was taken into consideration. We derived the linear perturbation of the superfluid equations, giving further insights into the dynamics of the superfluid collapse. Results. We found that while a conventional dark matter fluid with self-interactions and finite temperatures experiences a suppression in the growth of structures on smaller scales, as expected due to the presence of pressure terms, a superfluid can collapse much more efficiently than was naively expected due to its ability to suppress the growth of entropy perturbations and thus gradients in the thermal pressure. We also found that the cores of the dark matter halos initially become more superfluid during the collapse, but eventually reach a point where the superfluid fraction falls sharply. The formation of superfluid dark matter halos surrounded by a normal fluid dark matter background is therefore disfavored by the present work.

The sizes of minivoids in the local Universe: an argument in favour of a warm dark matter model?

Using high-resolution simulations within the Cold and Warm Dark Matter models we study the evolution of small scale structure in the Local Volume, a sphere of 8 Mpc radius around the Local Group. We compare the observed spectrum of mini-voids in the Local Volume with the spectrum of mini-voids determined from the simulations. We show that the \LWDM model can easily explain both the observed spectrum of mini-voids and the presence of low-mass galaxies observed in the Local Volume, provided that all haloes with circular velocities greater than 20 km/s host galaxies. On the contrary within the LCDM model the distribution of the simulated mini-voids reflects the observed one if haloes with maximal circular velocities larger than 35 km/s host galaxies. This assumption is in contradiction with observations of galaxies with circular velocities as low as 20 km/s in our Local Universe. A potential problem of the LWDM model could be the late formation of the haloes in which the gas can be efficiently photo-evaporated. Thus star formation is suppressed and low-mass haloes might not host any galaxy at all.

The evolution of small-scale structures in homogeneous isotropic turbulence

Using direct numerical simulations of homogeneous isotropic turbulence, the temporal evolution of small-scale vorticity and passive scalar structures has been examined. Visualization of small-scale vorticity structures indicates a process where vortex sheets may roll up into intense vortex tubes through a Kelvin–Helmholtz-type instability. The ability of these vortex structures to mix a passive scalar has also been examined. The regions of intense scalar gradient form sheets which are found to occur in regions of persistent straining flow, such as between neighboring vortex structures of approximately equal circulation. The magnitude of vorticity of these structures is usually not large, as persistent straining is most commonly found in connection with regions of moderate vorticity. Scalar gradient sheets are also found between low intensity regions of antiparallel vorticity, which are also observed to produce persistent straining.