Observations Of Dwarf Galaxies Research Articles

Too big to fail in the Local Group

We compare the dynamical masses of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group (LG) to the predicted masses of halos in the ELVIS suite of $\Lambda$CDM simulations, a sample of 48 Galaxy-size hosts, 24 of which are in paired configuration similar to the LG. We enumerate unaccounted-for dense halos ($V_\mathrm{max} \gtrsim 25$ km s$^{-1}$) in these volumes that at some point in their histories were massive enough to have formed stars in the presence of an ionizing background ($V_\mathrm{peak} > 30$ km s$^{-1}$). Within 300 kpc of the Milky Way, the number of unaccounted-for massive halos ranges from 2 - 25 over our full sample. Moreover, this "too big to fail" count grows as we extend our comparison to the outer regions of the Local Group: within 1.2 Mpc of either giant we find that there are 12-40 unaccounted-for massive halos. This count excludes volumes within 300 kpc of both the MW and M31, and thus should be largely unaffected by any baryonically-induced environmental processes. According to abundance matching -- specifically abundance matching that reproduces the Local Group stellar mass function -- all of these missing massive systems should have been quite bright, with $M_\star > 10^6M_\odot$. Finally, we use the predicted density structure of outer LG dark matter halos together with observed dwarf galaxy masses to derive an $M_\star-V_\mathrm{max}$ relation for LG galaxies that are outside the virial regions of either giant. We find that there is no obvious trend in the relation over three orders of magnitude in stellar mass (a "common mass" relation), from $M_\star \sim 10^8 - 10^5 M_\odot$, in drastic conflict with the tight relation expected for halos that are unaffected by reionization. Solutions to the too big to fail problem that rely on ram pressure stripping, tidal effects, or statistical flukes appear less likely in the face of these results.

Stringent constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section from subhalo searches with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

The dark matter halo of the Milky Way is predicted to contain a very large number of smaller subhalos. As a result of the dark matter annihilations taking place within such objects, the most nearby and massive subhalos could appear as point-like or spatially extended gamma-ray sources, without observable counterparts at other wavelengths. In this paper, we use the results of the Aquarius simulation to predict the distribution of nearby subhalos, and compare this to the characteristics of the unidentified gamma-ray sources observed by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. Focusing on the brightest high latitude sources, we use this comparison to derive limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section. For dark matter particles lighter than ~200 GeV, the resulting limits are the strongest obtained to date, being modestly more stringent than those derived from observations of dwarf galaxies or the Galactic Center. We also derive independent limits based on the lack of unidentified gamma-ray sources with discernible spatial extension, but these limits are a factor of ~2-10 weaker than those based on point-like subhalos. Lastly, we note that four of the ten brightest high-latitude sources exhibit a similar spectral shape, consistent with 30-60 GeV dark matter particles annihilating to b quarks with an annihilation cross section on the order of sigma v ~ (5-10) x 10^-27 cm^3/s, or 8-10 GeV dark matter particles annihilating to taus with sigma v ~ (2.0-2.5) x 10^-27 cm^3/s.

The [ /Fe] ratios of very metal-poor stars within the integrated galactic initial mass function theory

The aim of this paper is to quantify the amplitude of the predicted plateau in [alpha/Fe] ratios associated with the most metal-poor stars of a galaxy. We assume that the initial mass function in galaxies is steeper if the star formation rate (SFR) is low -- as per the integrated galactic initial mass function (IGIMF) theory. A variant of the theory, in which the IGIMF depends upon the metallicity of the parent galaxy, is also considered. The IGIMF theory predicts low [alpha/Fe] plateaus in dwarf galaxies, characterised by small SFRs. The [alpha/Fe] plateau is up to 0.7dex lower than the corresponding plateau of the Milky Way. For a universal IMF one should expect instead that the [alpha/Fe] plateau is the same for all the galaxies, irrespective of their masses or SFRs. Assuming a strong dependence of the IMF on the metallicity of the parent galaxy, dwarf galaxies can show values of the [alpha/Fe] plateau similar to those of the Milky Way, and almost independent on the SFR. The [Mg/Fe] ratios of the most metal-poor stars in dwarf galaxies satellites of the Milky Way can be reproduced either if we consider metallicity-dependent IMFs or if the early SFRs of these galaxies were larger than we presently think. Present and future observations of dwarf galaxies can help disentangle between these different IGIMF formulations.

INSIGHTS INTO PRE-ENRICHMENT OF STAR CLUSTERS AND SELF-ENRICHMENT OF DWARF GALAXIES FROM THEIR INTRINSIC METALLICITY DISPERSIONS

Star clusters are known to have smaller intrinsic metallicity spreads than dwarf galaxies due to their shorter star formation timescales. Here we use individual spectroscopic [Fe/H] measurements of stars in 19 Local Group dwarf galaxies, 13 Galactic open clusters, and 49 globular clusters to show that star cluster and dwarf galaxy linear metallicity distributions are binomial in form, with all objects showing strong correlations between their mean linear metallicity $\bar{Z}$ and intrinsic spread in metallicity $\sigma(Z)^{2}$. A plot of $\sigma(Z)^{2}$ versus $\bar{Z}$ shows that the correlated relationships are offset for the dwarf galaxies from the star clusters. The common binomial nature of these linear metallicity distributions can be explained with a simple inhomogeneous chemical evolution model (e.g., Oey 2000), where the star cluster and dwarf galaxy behaviour in the $\sigma(Z)^{2}-\bar{Z}$ diagram is reproduced in terms of the number of enrichment events, covering fraction, and intrinsic size of the enriched regions. The inhomogeneity of the self-enrichment sets the slope for the observed dwarf galaxy $\sigma(Z)^{2}-\bar{Z}$ correlation. The offset of the star cluster sequence from that of the dwarf galaxies is due to pre-enrichment, and the slope of the star cluster sequence represents the remnant signature of the self-enriched history of their host galaxies. The offset can be used to separate star clusters from dwarf galaxies without a priori knowledge of their luminosity or dynamical mass. The application of the inhomogeneous model to the $\sigma(Z)^{2}-\bar{Z}$ relationship provides a numerical formalism to connect the self-enrichment and pre-enrichment between star clusters and dwarf galaxies using physically motivated chemical enrichment parameters.

Constraints on the dark matter annihilation scenario ofFermi 130 GeV gamma-ray line emission by continuous gamma-rays,Milky Way halo, galaxy clusters and dwarf galaxies observations

It was recently reported that there may exist monochromatic γ-ray emission at ∼ 130 GeV from the Galactic center in the Fermi Large Area Telescope data, which might be related with dark matter (DM) annihilation. In this work we carry out a comprehensive check of consistency of the results with the DM annihilation scenario, using the 3.7 yrs Fermi observation of the inner Galaxy, Galactic halo, clusters of galaxies and dwarf galaxies. The results found are as follows. 1) Very strong constraints on the DM annihilation into continuous γ-rays from the Galactic center are set, which are as stringent as the “natural” scale assuming thermal freeze-out of DM. Such limit sets strong constraint on the DM models to explain the line emission. 2) No line emission from the Galactic halo is found in the Fermi data, {and the constraints on line emission is marginally consistent with} the DM annihilation interpretation of the ∼ 130 GeV line emission from the inner Galaxy. 3) No line emission from galaxy clusters and dwarf galaxies is detected, although possible concentration of photons from clusters in 120–140 GeV is revealed. The constraints from clusters and dwarf galaxies are weak and consistent with the DM annihilation scenario to explain the ∼ 130 GeV line emission.

The birth of a galaxy – II. The role of radiation pressure

Massive stars provide feedback that shapes the interstellar medium of galaxies at all redshifts and their resulting stellar populations. Here we present three adaptive mesh refinement radiation hydrodynamics simulations that illustrate the impact of momentum transfer from ionising radiation to the absorbing gas on star formation in high-redshift dwarf galaxies. Momentum transfer is calculated by solving the radiative transfer equation with a ray tracing algorithm that is adaptive in spatial and angular coordinates. We find that momentum input partially affects star formation by increasing the turbulent support to a three-dimensional rms velocity equal to the circular velocity of early haloes. Compared to a calculation that neglects radiation pressure, the star formation rate is decreased by a factor of five to 1.8 x 10^{-2} Msun/yr in a dwarf galaxy with a dark matter and stellar mass of 2.0 x 10^8 and 4.5 x 10^5 solar masses, respectively, when radiation pressure is included. Its mean metallicity of 10^{-2.1} Z_sun is consistent with the observed dwarf galaxy luminosity-metallicity relation. However, what one may naively expect from the calculation without radiation pressure, the central region of the galaxy overcools and produces a compact, metal-rich stellar population with an average metallicity of 0.3 Z_sun, indicative of an incorrect physical recipe. In addition to photo-heating in HII regions, radiation pressure further drives dense gas from star forming regions, so supernovae feedback occurs in a warmer and more diffuse medium, launching metal-rich outflows. Capturing this aspect and a temporal separation between the start of radiative and supernova feedback are numerically important in the modeling of galaxies to avoid the "overcooling problem". We estimate that dust in early low-mass galaxies is unlikely to aid in momentum transfer from radiation to the gas.

The chemical composition of ultracompact dwarf galaxies in the Virgo and Fornax clusters

We present spectroscopic observations of ultra compact dwarf (UCD) galaxies in the Fornax and Virgo Clusters made to measure and compare their stellar populations. The spectra were obtained on the Gemini-North (Virgo) and Gemini-South (Fornax) Telescopes using the respective Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs. We estimated the ages, metallicities and abundances of the objects from mea- surements of Lick line-strength indices in the spectra; we also estimated the ages and metallicities independently using a direct spectral fitting technique. Both methods re- vealed that the UCDs are old (mean age 10.8 \pm 0.7 Gyr) and (generally) metal-rich (mean [Fe/H] = -0.8 \pm 0.1). The alpha-element abundances of the objects measured from the Lick indices are super-Solar. We used these measurements to test the hypothesis that UCDs are formed by the tidal disruption of present-day nucleated dwarf elliptical galaxies. The data are not consistent with this hypothesis because both the ages and abundances are significantly higher than those of observed dwarf galaxy nuclei (this does not exclude disruption of an earlier generation of dwarf galaxies). They are more consistent with the properties of globular star clusters, although at higher mean metallicity. The UCDs display a very wide range of metallicity (-1.7 <[Fe/H]< 0.0), spanning the full range of both globular clusters and dwarf galaxy nuclei. We confirm previous reports that most UCDs have high metalliticities for their luminosities, lying significantly above the canonical metallicitiy-luminosity relation followed by early-type galaxies. In contrast to previous work we find that there is no significant difference in either the mean ages or the mean metallicities of the Virgo and Fornax UCD populations.

Fermi LAT search for internal bremsstrahlung signatures from dark matter annihilation

A commonly encountered obstacle in indirect searches for galacticdark matter is how to disentangle possible signals from astrophysicalbackgrounds. Given that such signals are most likely subdominant, the searchfor pronounced spectral features plays a key role for indirect detectionexperiments; monochromatic gamma-ray lines or similar features related tointernal bremsstrahlung, in particular, provide smoking gun signatures. Weperform a dedicated search for the latter in the data taken by the Fermigamma-ray space telescope during its first 43 months. To this end, we use anew adaptive procedure to select optimal target regions that takes intoaccount both standard and contracted dark matter profiles. The behaviour ofour statistical method is tested by a subsampling analysis of the full skydata and found to reproduce the theoretical expectations very well. Thelimits on the dark matter annihilation cross-section that we derive arestronger than what can be obtained from the observation of dwarf galaxies and,at least for the model considered here, collider searches. While theselimits are still not quite strong enough to probe annihilation rates expectedfor thermally produced dark matter, future prospects to do so are very good.In fact, we already find a weak indication, with a significance of 3.1σ(4.3σ) when (not) taking into account the look-elsewhere effect, foran internal bremsstrahlung-like signal that would correspond to a dark mattermass of ∼150 GeV; the same signal is also well fitted by a gamma-rayline at around 130 GeV. Although this would be a fascinating possibility, wecaution that a much more dedicated analysis and additional data will benecessary to rule out or confirm this option.

Search for dark matter signals with Fermi-LAT observation of globular clusters NGC 6388 and M 15

The globular clusters are probably good targets for dark matter (DM) searches in γ-rays due to the possible adiabatic contraction of DM by baryons. In this work we analyse the three-year data collected by Fermi Large Area Telescope of globular clusters NGC 6388 and M 15 to search for possible DM signals. For NGC 6388 the detection of γ-ray emission was reported by Fermi collaboration, which is consistent with the emission of a population of millisecond pulsars. The spectral shape of NGC 6388 is also shown to be consistent with a DM contribution if assuming the annihilation final state is bb̄. No significant γ-ray emission from M 15 is observed. We give the upper limits of DM contribution to γ-ray emission in both NGC 6388 and M 15, for annihilation final states bb̄, W+W−, μ+μ−, τ+τ− and monochromatic line. The constraints are stronger than that derived from observation of dwarf galaxies by Fermi.

Angular momentum and vortex formation in Bose-Einstein-condensed cold dark matter haloes

Various extensions of the standard model of particle physics predict the existence of very light bosons, with masses ranging from about 10−5 eV for the QCD axion down to 10−33 eV for ultra-light particles. These particles could be responsible for all or part of the cold dark matter (CDM) in the Universe. For such particles to serve as CDM, their phase-space density must be high enough to form a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). The fluid-like nature of BEC-CDM dynamics differs from that of standard collisionless CDM, however, so different signature effects on galactic haloes may allow observations to distinguish them. Standard CDM has problems with galaxy observations on small scales; cuspy central density profiles of haloes and the overabundance of subhaloes seem to conflict with observations of dwarf galaxies. It has been suggested that BEC-CDM can overcome these shortcomings for a large range of particle mass m and self-interaction coupling strength g. For quantum coherence to influence structure on the scale of galactic haloes of radius R and mass M, either the de-Broglie wavelength λdeB≲R, which requires m≳mH≅ 10−25(R/100 kpc)−1/2(M/1012 M⊙)−1/2 eV, or else λdeB≪R but gravity is balanced by self-interaction, which requires m≫mHandg≫gH≅ 2 × 10−64(R/100 kpc)(M/1012 M⊙)−1 eV cm3. Here we study the largely neglected effects of angular momentum on BEC haloes. Dimensionless spin parameters λ≃ 0.05 are expected from tidal-torquing by large-scale structure formation, just as for standard CDM. Since laboratory BECs develop quantum vortices if rotated rapidly enough, we ask whether this amount of angular momentum is sufficient to form vortices in BEC haloes, which would affect their structure with potentially observable consequences. The minimum angular momentum required for a halo to sustain a vortex, LQM, corresponds to ℏ per particle, or ℏM/m. For λ= 0.05, this requires m≥ 9.5mH, close enough to the particle mass required to influence structure on galactic scales that BEC haloes may be subject to vortex formation. While this is a necessary condition, it is not sufficient. To determine if and when quantum vortices will form in BEC haloes with a given λ-value, we study the equilibrium of self-gravitating, rotating, virialized BEC haloes which satisfy the Gross–Pitaevskii–Poisson equations, and calculate under what conditions vortices are energetically favoured, in two limits: either just enough angular momentum for one vortex or a significant excess of angular momentum. For λ= 0.05, vortex formation is energetically favoured for L/LQM≥ 1 as long as bothm/mH≥ 9.5 andg/gH≥ 68.0. Hence, vortices are expected for a wide range of BEC parameters. However, vortices cannot form for vanishing self-interaction (i.e. when λdeB≲R), and a range of particle parameters also remain even for BEC haloes supported by self-interaction, for which vortices will not form. Such BEC haloes can be modelled by compressible, (n= 1)-polytropic, irrotational Riemann-S ellipsoids.

Implications for constrained supersymmetry of combined H.E.S.S. observations of dwarf galaxies, the Galactic halo and the Galactic Centre

In order to place limits on dark matter (DM) properties using γ-ray observations, previous analyses have often assumed a very simple parametrisation of the γ-ray annihilation yield; typically, it has been assumed that annihilation proceeds through a single channel only. In realistic DM models, annihilation may occur into many different final states, making this quite a rough ansatz. With additional processes like virtual internal bremsstrahlung and final state radiation, this ansatz becomes even more incorrect, and the need for scans of explicit model parameter spaces becomes clear. Here we present scans of the parameter space of the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM), considering γ-ray spectra from three dwarf galaxies, the Galactic Centre region and the broader Galactic halo, as obtained with the High-Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). We present a series of likelihood scans combining the H.E.S.S. data with other experimental results. We show that including combined observations of the Sagittarius, Carina and Sculptor dwarf galaxies strongly disfavour the coannihilation region of the CMSSM and models with large annihilation cross-sections. Without the Sagittarius dwarf, which admittedly has a rather uncertain dark matter profile, the results are similar, but weaker. The Galactic Centre search is complicated by a strong (unknown) γ-ray source, and we see no significant effect on the CMSSM parameter space when assuming a realistic Galactic Centre DM density profile.

What can the UV SED tell us about primitive galaxies?

AbstractWe use the full SED of a well observed dwarf galaxy, I Zw 18, to evaluate what inferences can be made about very high-redshift galaxies from their UV SED's alone.

The cold gas content of bulgeless dwarf galaxies

We present an analysis of the neutral hydrogen (HI) properties of a fully cosmological hydrodynamical dwarf galaxy, run with varying simulation parameters. As reported by Governato et al. (2010), the high resolution, high star formation density threshold version of this galaxy is the first simulation to result in the successful reproduction of a (dwarf) spiral galaxy without any associated stellar bulge. We have set out to compare in detail the HI distribution and kinematics of this simulated bulgeless disk with what is observed in a sample of nearby dwarfs. To do so, we extracted the radial gas density profiles, velocity dispersion (e.g., velocity ellipsoid, turbulence), and the power spectrum of structure within the cold interstellar medium from the simulations. The highest resolution dwarf, when using a high density star formation threshold comparable to densities of giant molecular clouds, possesses bulk characteristics consistent with those observed in nature, though the cold gas is not as radially extended as that observed in nearby dwarfs, resulting in somewhat excessive surface densities. The lines-of-sight velocity dispersion radial profiles have values that are in good agreement with observed dwarf galaxies, but due to the fact that only the streaming velocities of particles are tracked, a correction to include the thermal velocities can lead to profiles that are quite flat. The ISM power spectra of the simulations appear to possess more power on smaller spatial scales than that of the SMC. We conclude that unavoidable limitations remain due to the unresolved physics of star formation and feedback within pc-scale molecular clouds.

THE CENTRAL SLOPE OF DARK MATTER CORES IN DWARF GALAXIES: SIMULATIONS VERSUS THINGS

We make a direct comparison of the derived dark matter (DM) distributions between hydrodynamical simulations of dwarf galaxies assuming a LCDM cosmology and the observed dwarf galaxies sample from the THINGS survey in terms of (1) the rotation curve shape and (2) the logarithmic inner density slope alpha of mass density profiles. The simulations, which include the effect of baryonic feedback processes, such as gas cooling, star formation, cosmic UV background heating and most importantly physically motivated gas outflows driven by supernovae (SNe), form bulgeless galaxies with DM cores. We show that the stellar and baryonic mass is similar to that inferred from photometric and kinematic methods for galaxies of similar circular velocity. Analyzing the simulations in exactly the same way as the observational sample allows us to address directly the so-called "cusp/core" problem in the LCDM model. We show that the rotation curves of the simulated dwarf galaxies rise less steeply than CDM rotation curves and are consistent with those of the THINGS dwarf galaxies. The mean value of the logarithmic inner density slopes alpha of the simulated galaxies' dark matter density profiles is ~ -0.4 +- 0.1, which shows good agreement with \alpha = -0.29 +- 0.07 of the THINGS dwarf galaxies. The effect of non-circular motions is not significant enough to affect the results. This confirms that the baryonic feedback processes included in the simulations are efficiently able to make the initial cusps with \alpha ~ -1.0 to -1.5 predicted by dark-matter-only simulations shallower, and induce DM halos with a central mass distribution similar to that observed in nearby dwarf galaxies.

Search for a Dark Matter Annihilation Signal from the Galactic Center Halo with H.E.S.S.

A search for a very-high-energy (VHE; ≥100 GeV) γ-ray signal from self-annihilating particle dark matter (DM) is performed towards a region of projected distance r∼45-150 pc from the Galactic center. The background-subtracted γ-ray spectrum measured with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) γ-ray instrument in the energy range between 300 GeV and 30 TeV shows no hint of a residual γ-ray flux. Assuming conventional Navarro-Frenk-White and Einasto density profiles, limits are derived on the velocity-weighted annihilation cross section (σv) as a function of the DM particle mass. These are among the best reported so far for this energy range and in particular differ only little between the chosen density profile parametrizations. In particular, for the DM particle mass of ∼1 TeV, values for (σv) above 3×10(-25) cm(3) s(-1) are excluded for the Einasto density profile.

What is the (dark) matter with dwarf galaxies?

We present cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the formation of dwarf galaxies in a representative sample of haloes extracted from the Millennium-II Simulation. Our six haloes have a z= 0 mass of ∼1010 M⊙ and show different mass assembly histories which are reflected in different star formation histories. We find final stellar masses in the range 5 × 107– 108 M⊙, consistent with other published simulations of galaxy formation in similar mass haloes. Our final objects have structures and stellar populations consistent with observed dwarf galaxies. However, in a Λ cold dark matter universe, 1010 M⊙ haloes must typically contain galaxies with much lower stellar mass than our simulated objects if they are to match observed galaxy abundances. The dwarf galaxies formed in our own and all other current hydrodynamical simulations are more than an order of magnitude more luminous than expected for haloes of this mass. We discuss the significance and possible implications of this result.

Evolution of the dark matter halo in numerical models

Cosmological numerical models well reproduce many properties of a large-scale structure; however, there are a number of disagreements between simulation results and observations. Two most important inconsistencies are (i) the “cusp problem”, i.e., simulations show that the density in the inner halo regions tends to infinity at the center, and (ii) the problem of the number of halos, i.e., simulations show that the number of halos with small masses is larger than the number of observed dwarf Galaxies by a factor of 5–10. This paper is devoted to the study of these problems using rich statistical data, which is done for the first time. An extensive model catalog of halos was analyzed. It was shown that even a large sample of model halos contains no halo without “cusp”. Further possible ways for solving these problems are also discussed.

Massive black holes lurking in Milky Way satellites

As massive black holes (MBHs) grow from lower-mass seeds, it is natural to expect that a leftover population of progenitor MBHs should also exist in the present universe. Dwarf galaxies undergo a quiet merger history, and as a result, we expect that dwarfs observed in the local Universe retain some `memory' of the original seed mass distribution. Consequently, the properties of MBHs in nearby dwarf galaxies may provide clean indicators of the efficiency of MBH formation. In order to examine the properties of MBHs in dwarf galaxies, we evolve different MBH populations within a Milky Way halo from high-redshift to today. We consider two plausible MBH formation mechanisms: `massive seeds' formed via gas-dynamical instabilities and a Population III remnant seed model. `Massive seeds' have larger masses than PopIII remnants, but form in rarer hosts. We dynamically evolve all halos merging with the central system, taking into consideration how the interaction modifies the satellites, stripping their outer mass layers. We compute different properties of the MBH population hosted in these satellites. We find that for the most part MBHs retain the original mass, thus providing a clear indication of what the properties of the seeds were. We derive the black hole occupation fraction (BHOF) of the satellite population at z=0. MBHs generated as `massive seeds' have large masses that would favour their identification, but their typical BHOF is always below 40 per cent and decreases to less than per cent for observed dwarf galaxy sizes. In contrast, Population III remnants have a higher BHOF, but their masses have not grown much since formation, inhibiting their detection.

Large change in the predicted number of small halos due to a small amplitude oscillating inflaton potential

A smooth inflaton potential is generally assumed when calculating the primordial power spectrum, implicitly assuming that a very small oscillation in the inflaton potential creates a negligible change in the predicted halo mass function. We show that this is not true. We find that a small oscillating perturbation in the inflaton potential in the slow-roll regime can alter significantly the predicted number of small halos. A class of models derived from supergravity theories gives rise to inflaton potentials with a large number of steps and many trans-Planckian effects may generate oscillations in the primordial power spectrum. The potentials we study are the simple quadratic (chaotic inflation) potential with superimposed small oscillations for small field values. Without leaving the slow-roll regime, we find that for a wide choice of parameters, the predicted number of halos change appreciably. For the oscillations beginning in the ${10}^{7}--{10}^{8}{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ range, for example, we find that only a 5% change in the amplitude of the chaotic potential causes a 50% suppression of the number of halos for masses between ${10}^{7}--{10}^{8}{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ and an increase in the number of halos for masses $&lt;{10}^{6}{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ by factors $\ensuremath{\sim}15--50$. We suggest that this might be a solution to the problem of the lack of observed dwarf galaxies in the range ${10}^{7}--{10}^{8}{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$. This might also be a solution to the reionization problem where a very large number of Population III stars in low mass halos are required.

Bulgeless dwarf galaxies and dark matter cores from supernova-driven outflows

For almost two decades the properties of 'dwarf' galaxies have challenged the cold dark matter (CDM) model of galaxy formation. Most observed dwarf galaxies consist of a rotating stellar disk embedded in a massive dark-matter halo with a near-constant-density core. Models based on the dominance of CDM, however, invariably form galaxies with dense spheroidal stellar bulges and steep central dark-matter profiles, because low-angular-momentum baryons and dark matter sink to the centres of galaxies through accretion and repeated mergers. Processes that decrease the central density of CDM halos have been identified, but have not yet reconciled theory with observations of present-day dwarfs. This failure is potentially catastrophic for the CDM model, possibly requiring a different dark-matter particle candidate. Here we report hydrodynamical simulations (in a framework assuming the presence of CDM and a cosmological constant) in which the inhomogeneous interstellar medium is resolved. Strong outflows from supernovae remove low-angular-momentum gas, which inhibits the formation of bulges and decreases the dark-matter density to less than half of what it would otherwise be within the central kiloparsec. The analogues of dwarf galaxies-bulgeless and with shallow central dark-matter profiles-arise naturally in these simulations.