Luminous Matter Research Articles

Lensing measurements of the ellipticity of luminous red galaxies dark matter haloes

Lensing measurements of the shapes of dark matter halos can provide tests of gravity theories and possible dark matter interactions. We measure the quadrupole weak lensing signal from the elliptical halos of 70,000 SDSS Luminous Red Galaxies. We use a new estimator that nulls the spherical halo lensing signal, isolating the shear due to anisotropy in the dark matter distribution. One of the two Cartesian components of our estimator is insensitive to the primary systematic, a spurious alignment of lens and source ellipticities, allowing us to make robust measurements of halo ellipticity. Our best-fit value for the ellipticity of the surface mass density is $0.24 \pm 0.06$, which translates to an axis ratio of 0.78. We rule out the hypothesis of no ellipticity at the $4\sigma$ confidence level, and ellipticity < 0.12 (axis ratio > 0.89) at the $2\sigma$ level. We discuss how our measurements of halo ellipticity are revised to higher values using estimates of the misalignment of mass and light from simulations. Finally, we apply the same techniques to a smaller sample of redMaPPer galaxy clusters and obtain a $3\sigma$ measurement of cluster ellipticity. We discuss how the improved signal to noise properties of our estimator can enable studies of halo shapes for different galaxy populations with upcoming surveys.

The massive dark halo of the compact early-type galaxy NGC 1281

We investigate the compact, early-type galaxy NGC 1281 with integral field unit observations to map the stellar LOSVD out to 5 effective radii and construct orbit-based dynamical models to constrain its dark and luminous matter content. Under the assumption of mass-follows-light, the H-band stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L) is {\Upsilon} = 2.7(+-0.1) {\Upsilon}_{sun}, higher than expected from our stellar population synthesis fits with either a canonical Kroupa ({\Upsilon} = 1.3 {\Upsilon}_{sun}) or Salpeter ({\Upsilon} = 1.7 {\Upsilon}_{sun}) stellar initial mass function. Such models also cannot reproduce the details of the LOSVD. Models with a dark halo recover the kinematics well and indicate that NGC 1281 is dark matter dominated, making up ~ 90 per cent of the total enclosed mass within the kinematic bounds. Parameterised as a spherical NFW profile, the dark halo mass is 11.5 < log(M_{DM}/M_{sun}) < 11.8 and the stellar M/L is 0.6 < {\Upsilon} < 1.1. However, this stellar M/L is lower than predicted by its old stellar population. Moreover, the halo mass within the kinematic extent is ten times larger than expected based on {\Lambda}CDM predictions, and an extrapolation yields cluster sized dark halo masses. Adopting {\Upsilon} = 1.7 {\Upsilon}_{sun} yields more moderate dark halo virial masses, but these models fit the kinematics worse. A non-NFW model might solve the discrepancy between the unphysical consequences of the best-fitting dynamical models and models based on more reasonable assumptions for the dark halo and stellar mass-to-light ratio, which are disfavoured according to our parameter estimation.

Constraining inflationary dark matter in the luminogenesis model

Using renormalization-group flow and cosmological constraints on inflation models, we exploit a unique connection between cosmological inflation and the dynamical mass of dark matter particles in the luminogenesis model, a unification model with the gauge group SU(3)C × SU(6) × U(1)Y, which breaks to the Standard Model with an extra gauge group for dark matter when the inflaton rolls into the true vacuum. In this model, inflaton decay gives rise to dark matter, which in turn decays to luminous matter in the right proportion that agrees with cosmological data. Some attractive features of this model include self-interacting dark matter, which may resolve the problems of dwarf galaxy structures and dark matter cusps at the centers of galaxies.

ASTROPHYSICS. Exclusion of leptophilic dark matter models using XENON100 electronic recoil data.

Laboratory experiments searching for galactic dark matter particles scattering off nuclei have so far not been able to establish a discovery. We use data from the XENON100 experiment to search for dark matter interacting with electrons. With no evidence for a signal above the low background of our experiment, we exclude a variety of representative dark matter models that would induce electronic recoils. For axial-vector couplings to electrons, we exclude cross sections above 6 × 10(-35) cm(2) for particle masses of m(χ) = 2 GeV/c(2). Independent of the dark matter halo, we exclude leptophilic models as an explanation for the long-standing DAMA/LIBRA signal, such as couplings to electrons through axial-vector interactions at a 4.4σ confidence level, mirror dark matter at 3.6σ, and luminous dark matter at 4.6σ.

X-raying the Hubble Frontier Fields cluster Abell 2744

AbstractAbell 2744 was the first HFF cluster completed. It displays a fascinating complexity in its distribution of dark and luminous matter, which led to its nickname of the Pandora cluster. In late 2014 we obtained a deep (110 ks) observation of this cluster with XMM-Newton, with the aim of making a detailed comparison between the optical, X-ray and lensing properties of this system. The new X-ray observation unveiled the presence of three hot gas filaments extending on scales of several Mpc and connected to the cluster core. The X-ray structures coincide spatially with the distribution of galaxies and dark matter and provide strong evidence for the existence of the elusive warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). The new observation also reveals the complexity of the thermodynamic structure of the cluster core and a probable shock front associated with the radio relic located 1 Mpc NW of the cluster core.

Wide-field lensing mass maps from Dark Energy Survey science verification data: Methodology and detailed analysis

Weak gravitational lensing allows one to reconstruct the spatial distribution of the projected density across the sky. These mass provide a powerful tool for studying cosmology as they probe both luminous and dark matter. In this paper, we present a weak lensing map reconstructed from shear measurements in a 139 deg2 area from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) science verification data. We compare the distribution of with that of the foreground distribution of galaxies and clusters. The overdensities in the reconstructed map correlate well with the distribution of optically detected clusters. We demonstrate that candidate superclusters and voids along the line of sight can be identified, exploiting the tight scatter of the cluster photometric redshifts. We cross-correlate the map with a foreground magnitude-limited galaxy sample from the same data. Our measurement gives results consistent with mock catalogs from N -body simulations that include the primary sources of statistical uncertainties in the galaxy, lensing, and photo-z catalogs. The statistical significance of the cross-correlation is at the 6.8 sigma level with 20 arcminute smoothing. We find that the contribution of systematics to the lensing maps is generally within measurement uncertainties. In this work, we analyze less than 3% of the final area that will be mapped by the DES; the tools and analysis techniques developed in this paper can be applied to forthcoming larger data sets from the survey.

Wide-Field Lensing Mass Maps from Dark Energy Survey Science Verification Data.

We present a mass map reconstructed from weak gravitational lensing shear measurements over 139 deg2 from the Dark Energy Survey science verification data. The mass map probes both luminous and dark matter, thus providing a tool for studying cosmology. We find good agreement between the mass map and the distribution of massive galaxy clusters identified using a red-sequence cluster finder. Potential candidates for superclusters and voids are identified using these maps. We measure the cross-correlation between the mass map and a magnitude-limited foreground galaxy sample and find a detection at the 6.8σ level with 20 arc min smoothing. These measurements are consistent with simulated galaxy catalogs based on N-body simulations from a cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant. This suggests low systematics uncertainties in the map. We summarize our key findings in this Letter; the detailed methodology and tests for systematics are presented in a companion paper.

Hubble Frontier Field free-form mass mapping of the massive multiple-merging cluster MACSJ0717.5+3745

We examine the latest data on the cluster MACSJ0717.5+3745 from the Hubble Frontier Fields campaign. The critically lensed area is the largest known of any lens and very irregular making it a challenge for parametric modelling. Using our Free-Form method we obtain an accurate solution, identify here many new sets of multiple images, doubling the number of constraints and improving the reconstruction of the dark matter distribution. Our reconstructed mass map shows several distinct central substructures with shallow density profiles, clarifying earlier work and defining well the relation between the dark matter distribution and the luminous and X-ray peaks within the critically lensed region. Using our free-form method, we are able to meaningfully subtract the mass contribution from cluster members to the deflection field to trace the smoothly distributed cluster dark matter distribution. We find 4 distinct concentrations, 3 of which are coincident with the luminous matter. The fourth peak has a significant offset from both the closest luminous and X-ray peaks. These findings, together with dynamical data from the motions of galaxies and gas will be important for uncovering the potentially important implications of this extremely massive and intriguing system.

High-resolution ALMA observations of SDP.81. I. The innermost mass profile of the lensing elliptical galaxy probed by 30 milli-arcsecond images

Abstract We report the detailed modeling of the mass profile of a z = 0.2999 massive elliptical galaxy using 30 milli-arcsecond resolution 1 mm Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) images of the galaxy–galaxy lensing system SDP.81. The detailed morphology of the lensed multiple images of the z = 3.042 infrared-luminous galaxy, which is found to consist of tens of ≲ 100 pc-sized star-forming clumps embedded in a ∼ 2 kpc disk, are well reproduced by a lensing galaxy modeled by an isothermal ellipsoid with a 400 pc core. The core radius is consistent with that of the visible stellar light, and the mass-to-light ratio of ${\sim}\,2\,M_{\odot }\,L_{\odot }^{-1}$ is comparable to the locally measured value, suggesting that the inner 1 kpc region is dominated by luminous matter. The position of the predicted mass centroid is consistent to within ≃ 30 mas with a non-thermal source detected with ALMA, which likely traces an active galactic nucleus of the foreground elliptical galaxy. While the black hole mass and the core radius of the elliptical galaxy are degenerate, a point source mass of &amp;gt; 3 × 108 M⊙ mimicking a supermassive black hole is required to explain the non-detection of a central image of the background galaxy. The required mass is consistent with the prediction from the well-known correlation between black hole mass and host velocity dispersion. Our analysis demonstrates the power of high resolution imaging of strong gravitational lensing for studying the innermost mass profile and the central supermassive black hole of distant elliptical galaxies.

The SLUGGS survey: multipopulation dynamical modelling of the elliptical galaxy NGC 1407 from stars and globular clusters

We perform in-depth dynamical modelling of the luminous and dark matter (DM) content of the elliptical galaxy NGC 1407. Our strategy consists of solving the spherical Jeans equations for three independent dynamical tracers: stars, blue GCs and red GCs in a self-consistent manner. We adopt a maximum-likelihood Markov-Chain Monte Carlo fitting technique in the attempt to constrain the inner slope of the DM density profile (the cusp/core problem), and the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of the galaxy. We find the inner logarithmic slope of the DM density profiles to be $\gamma = 0.6\pm0.4$, which is consistent with either a DM cusp ($\gamma = 1$) or with a DM core $(\gamma = 0)$. Our findings are consistent with a Salpeter IMF, and marginally consistent with a Kroupa IMF. We infer tangential orbits for the blue GCs, and radial anisotropy for red GCs and stars. The modelling results are consistent with the virial mass--concentration relation predicted by $\Lambda$CDM simulations. The virial mass of NGC 1407 is $\log$ $M_{\rm vir} = 13.3 \pm 0.2 M_{\odot}$, whereas the stellar mass is $\log M_* = 11.8 \pm 0.1 M_{\odot}$. The overall uncertainties on the mass of NGC 1407 are only 5 per cent at the projected stellar effective radius. We attribute the disagreement between our results and previous X-ray results to the gas not being in hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions of the galaxy. The halo of NGC 1407 is found be DM dominated, with a dynamical mass-to-light ratio of $M/L=260_{-100} ^{+174} M_{\odot}/L_{\odot, B}$. However, this value can be larger up to a factor of 3 depending on the assumed prior on the DM scale radius.

Astrophysics. Multiple images of a highly magnified supernova formed by an early-type cluster galaxy lens.

In 1964, Refsdal hypothesized that a supernova whose light traversed multiple paths around a strong gravitational lens could be used to measure the rate of cosmic expansion. We report the discovery of such a system. In Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we have found four images of a single supernova forming an Einstein cross configuration around a redshift z = 0.54 elliptical galaxy in the MACS J1149.6+2223 cluster. The cluster's gravitational potential also creates multiple images of the z = 1.49 spiral supernova host galaxy, and a future appearance of the supernova elsewhere in the cluster field is expected. The magnifications and staggered arrivals of the supernova images probe the cosmic expansion rate, as well as the distribution of matter in the galaxy and cluster lenses.

The distribution of dark and luminous matter inferred from extended rotation curves

A better understanding of the formation of mass structures in the universe can be obtained by determining the amount and distribution of dark and luminous matter in spiral galaxies. To investigate such matters a sample of 12 galaxies, most with accurate distances, has been composed of which the luminosities are distributed regularly over a range spanning 2.5 orders of magnitude. Of the observed high quality and extended rotation curves of these galaxies decompositions have been made, for four different schemes, each with two free parameters. For a "maximum disc fit" the rotation curves can be well matched, yet a large range of mass-to-light ratios for the individual galaxies is required. For the alternative gravitational theory of MOND the rotation curves can be explained if the fundamental parameter associated with MOND is allowed as a free parameter. Fixing that parameter leads to a disagreement between the predicted and observed rotation curves for a few galaxies. When cosmologically motivated NFW dark matter halos are assumed, the rotation curves for the least massive galaxies can, by no means, be reproduced; cores are definitively preferred over cusps. Finally, decompositions have been made for a pseudo isothermal halo combined with a universal M/L ratio. For the latter, the light of each galactic disc and bulge has been corrected for extinction and has been scaled by the effect of stellar population. This scheme can successfully explain the observed rotations and leads to sub maximum disc mass contributions. Properties of the resulting dark matter halos are described and a ratio between dark and baryonic mass of approximately 9 for the least, and of approximately 5, for the most luminous galaxies has been determined, at the outermost measured rotation.

Relative distribution of dark matter and stellar mass in three massive galaxy clusters

This work observationally addresses the relative distribution of total and optically luminous matter in galaxy clusters by computing the radial profile of the stellar-to-total mass ratio. We adopt state-of-the-art accurate lensing masses free from assumptions about the mass radial profile and we use extremely deep multicolor wide-field optical images to distinguish star formation from stellar mass, to properly calculate the mass in galaxies of low mass, those outside the red sequence, and to allow a contribution from galaxies of low mass that is clustercentric dependent. We pay special attention to issues and contributions that are usually underrated, yet are major sources of uncertainty, and we present an approach that allows us to account for all of them. Here we present the results for three very massive clusters at z ~ 0.45, MACSJ1206.2-0847, MACSJ0329.6-0211, and RXJ1347.5-1145. We find that stellar mass and total matter are closely distributed on scales from about 150 kpc to 2.5 Mpc: the stellar-to-total mass ratio is radially constant. We find that the characteristic mass stays constant across clustercentric radii and clusters, but that the less-massive end of the galaxy mass function is dependent on the environment.

Astronomical constraints on quantum theories of cold dark matter – II. Supermassive black holes and luminous matter

Astronomical constraints on quantum theories of cold dark matter – II. Supermassive black holes and luminous matter

Hubble Frontier Fields: the geometry and dynamics of the massive galaxy cluster merger MACSJ0416.1-2403

We use a joint optical/X-ray analysis to constrain the geometry and history of the ongoing merging event in the massive galaxy cluster MACSJ0416.1−2403 (z = 0.397). Our investigation of cluster substructure rests primarily on a combined strong- and weak-lensing mass reconstruction based on the deep, high-resolution images obtained for the Hubble Frontier Fields initiative. To reveal the system's dynamics, we complement this lensing analysis with a study of the intracluster gas using shallow Chandra data, and a three-dimensional model of the distribution and motions of cluster galaxies derived from over 100 spectroscopic redshifts. The multiscale grid model obtained from our combined lensing analysis extends the high-precision strong-lensing mass reconstruction recently performed to cluster-centric distances of almost 1 Mpc. Our analysis detects the two well-known mass concentrations in the cluster core. A pronounced offset between collisional and collisionless matter is only observed for the SW cluster component, while excellent alignment is found for the NE cluster. Both the lensing analysis and the distribution of cluster light strongly suggest the presence of a third massive structure, almost 2 arcmin SW of the cluster centre. Since no X-ray emission is detected in this region, we conclude that this structure is non-virialized and speculate that it might be part of a large-scale filament almost aligned with our line of sight. Combining all evidence from the distribution of dark and luminous matter, we propose two alternative scenarios for the trajectories of the components of MACSJ0416.1−2403. Upcoming deep X-ray observations that allow the detection of shock fronts, cold cores, and sloshing gas (all key diagnostics for studies of cluster collisions) will allow us to test, and distinguish between these two scenarios.

Planck2013 results. XVIII. The gravitational lensing-infrared background correlation

The multi-frequency capability of the Planck satellite provides information both on the integrated history of star formation (via the cosmic infrared background, or CIB) and on the distribution of dark matter (via the lensing effect on the cosmic microwave background, or CMB). The conjunction of these two unique probes allows us to measure directly the connection between dark and luminous matter in the high redshift (1 ≤ z ≤ 3) Universe. We use a three-point statistic optimized to detect the correlation between these two tracers, using lens reconstructions at 100, 143, and 217 GHz, together with CIB measurements at 100–857 GHz. Following a thorough discussion of possible contaminants and a suite of consistency tests, we report the first detection of the correlation between the CIB and CMB lensing. The well matched redshift distribution of these two signals leads to a detection significance with a peak value of 42/19σ (statistical/statistical + systematics) at 545 GHz and a correlation as high as 80% across these two tracers. Our full set of multi-frequency measurements (both CIB auto- and CIB-lensing cross-spectra) are consistent with a simple halo-based model, with a characteristic mass scale for the halos hosting CIB sources of log10(M/M⊙) = 10.5 ± 0.6. Leveraging the frequency dependence of our signal, we isolate the high redshift contribution to the CIB, and constrain the star formation rate (SFR) density at z ≥ 1. We measure directly the SFR density with around 2σ significance for three redshift bins between z = 1 and 7, thus opening a new window into the study of the formation of stars at early times.

Obtaining galaxy rotation curves without dark matter

We consider the problem of obtaining the observed galaxy rotation curves using only luminous matter as a source of gravity. The basic idea is that any star belonging to a galaxy possesses both translational and rotational motion. On the basis of this idea, we introduce 7D space-time in which the galaxy rotation equation corresponds to the observations. As a key proof of the correctness of the suggested model, we use a theoretical justification of Skumanich’s empirical law. The main advantage of the new model is an explanation of galaxy rotation curves without dark matter.

Evolution of central dark matter of early-type galaxies up to z ∼ 0.8

We investigate the evolution of dark and luminous matter in the central regions of early-type galaxies (ETGs) up to z ~ 0.8. We use a spectroscopically selected sample of 154 cluster and field galaxies from the EDisCS survey, covering a wide range in redshifts (z ~ 0.4-0.8), stellar masses ($\log M_{\star}/ M_{\odot}$ ~ 10.5-11.5 dex) and velocity dispersions ($\sigma_{\star}$ ~ 100-300 \, km/s). We obtain central dark matter (DM) fractions by determining the dynamical masses from Jeans modelling of galaxy aperture velocity dispersions and the $M_{\star}$ from galaxy colours, and compare the results with local samples. We discuss how the correlations of central DM with galaxy size (i.e. the effective radius, $R_{\rm e}$), $M_{\star}$ and $\sigma_{\star}$ evolve as a function of redshift, finding clear indications that local galaxies are, on average, more DM dominated than their counterparts at larger redshift. This DM fraction evolution with $z$ can be only partially interpreted as a consequence of the size-redshift evolution. We discuss our results within galaxy formation scenarios, and conclude that the growth in size and DM content which we measure within the last 7 Gyr is incompatible with passive evolution, while it is well reproduced in the multiple minor merger scenario. We also discuss the impact of the IMF on our DM inferences and argue that this can be non-universal with the lookback time. In particular, we find the Salpeter IMF can be better accommodated by low redshift systems, while producing stellar masses at high-$z$ which are unphysically larger than the estimated dynamical masses (particularly for lower-$\sigma_{\star}$ systems).

THE NEXT GENERATION VIRGO CLUSTER SURVEY. V. MODELING THE DYNAMICS OF M87 WITH THE MADE-TO-MEASURE METHOD

We study the dynamics of the giant elliptical galaxy M87 from the central to the outermost regions with the made-to-measure (M2M) method. We use a new catalogue of 922 globular cluster line-of- sight velocities extending to a projected radius of 180 kpc (equivalent to 25 M87 effective radii), and SAURON integral field unit data within the central 2.4 kpc. 263 globular clusters, mainly located beyond 40 kpc, are newly observed by the Next Generation Virgo Survey (NGVS). For the M2M modelling, the gravitational potential is taken as a combination of a luminous matter potential with a constant stellar mass-to-light ratio and a dark matter potential modelled as a logarithmic potential. Our best dynamical model returns a stellar mass-to-light ratio in the I band of M/LI = 6.0(+ -0.3) M_sun/L_sun with a dark matter potential scale velocity of 591(+ -50) km/s and scale radius of 42(+ -10) kpc. We determine the total mass of M87 within 180 kpc to be (1.5 + - 0.2) 10^13 M_sun. The mass within 40 kpc is smaller than previous estimates determined using globular cluster kinematics that did not extend beyond 45 kpc. With our new globular cluster velocities at much larger radii, we see that globular clusters around 40 kpc show an anomalously large velocity dispersion which affected previous results. The mass we derived is in good agreement with that inferred from ROSAT X-ray observation out to 180 kpc. Within 30 kpc our mass is also consistent with that inferred from Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations, while within 120 kpc it is about 20% smaller. The model velocity dispersion anisotropy beta parameter for the globular clusters in M87 is small, varying from -0.2 at the centre to 0.2 at 40 kpc, and gradually decreasing to zero at 120 kpc.

A very simple cusped halo model

We introduce a very simple model of a dark halo. It is a close relative of Hernquist's model, being generated by the same transformation but this time applied to the logarithmic potential rather than the point mass. The density is proportional to (distance)$^{-1}$ at small radii, whilst the rotation curve is flat at large radii. Isotropic and radially anisotropic distributions functions are readily found, and the intrinsic and line of sight kinematical quantities are available as simple formulae. We also provide an analytical approximation to the Hamiltonian as a function of the actions. As an application, we study the kinematic properties of stellar haloes and tracers in elliptical galaxies. We show that the radial velocity dispersion of a power-law population in a galaxy with a flat rotation curve always tends to the constant value. This holds true irrespective of the anisotropy or the lengthscales of the dark or luminous matter. An analogous result holds for the line of sight or projected velocity dispersion of a power-law surface brightness profile. The radial velocity dispersion of Population II stars in the Milky Way is a strongly declining function of Galactocentric radius. So, if the rotation curve is flat, we conclude that the stellar halo density cannot follow a power-law at large radii, but must decrease more sharply (like an Einasto profile) or be abruptly truncated at large radii. Both the starcount and kinematic data of the Milky Way stellar halo are well-represented by an Einasto profile with index $m\approx 2$ and effective radius $\approx 20$ kpc.