scholarly journals An Upper Limit on the Masses of Galaxies in Clusters

1987 ◽  
Vol 117 ◽  
pp. 283-283
Author(s):  
David Merritt ◽  
Simon D. M. White
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Cluster Formation ◽  
Galactic Halos ◽  
Potential Well ◽  
Cluster Evolution ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Orbital Geometry ◽  
Orbital Decay ◽  
Massive Halos ◽  
The Masses

Clusters of galaxies are believed to be dominated by dark matter. Some of this matter is presumably bound to galaxies in the form of massive halos, while the rest moves freely in the cluster potential well. The exact fraction of dark matter bound to galaxies is an important datum for models of cluster evolution, since time scales for orbital decay, merging, stripping, etc. are sensitive functions of galaxy mass. In this study we attempt to put a firm upper limit on the amount of dark matter associated with galaxies in clusters, by calculating the response of a galaxy with an initially massive halo to the mean tidal field produced by the overall cluster potential well. If the velocity dispersions of galactic halos are roughly equal to those of luminous galaxies, σg, it is easy to show that the truncated mass of a spherical galaxy orbiting near the center of a cluster is roughly mg ≈ G−1σg3σc−1Rc ≈ 4 × 1011M⊙, where σc and Rc are the cluster velocity dispersion and core radius. The precise value of mg must depend on the orbital geometry, as well as the number of pericenter passages since cluster formation, among other factors.

scholarly journals Thermodynamic Constraints on the Non-Baryonic Dark Matter Gas Composing Galactic Halos

Galaxies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Anne M. Hofmeister
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Galactic Halos ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
Macroscopic Models ◽  
Available Energy ◽  
Massive Halos ◽  
Classical Thermodynamics ◽  
Halo Gas ◽  
Occupy Central ◽  
Baryonic Dark Matter

To explain rotation curves of spiral galaxies through Newtonian orbital models, massive halos of non-baryonic dark matter (NBDM) are commonly invoked. The postulated properties are that NBDM interacts gravitationally with baryonic matter, yet negligibly interacts with photons. Since halos are large, low-density gaseous bodies, their postulated attributes can be tested against classical thermodynamics and the kinetic theory of gas. Macroscopic models are appropriate because these make few assumptions. NBDM–NBDM collisions must be elastic to avoid the generation of light, but this does not permit halo gas temperature to evolve. If no such collisions exist, then the impossible limit of absolute zero would be attainable since the other available energy source, radiation, does not provide energy to NBDM. The alternative possibility, an undefined temperature, is also inconsistent with basic thermodynamic principles. However, a definable temperature could be attained via collisions with baryons in the intergalactic medium since these deliver kinetic energy to NBDM. In this case, light would be produced since some proportion of baryon collisions are inelastic, thereby rendering the halo detectable. Collisions with baryons are unavoidable, even if NBDM particles are essentially point masses. Note that <0.0001 × the size of a proton is needed to avoid scattering with γ-rays, the shortest wavelength used to study halos. If only elastic collisions exist, NBDM gas would collapse to a tiny, dense volume (zero volume for point masses) during a disturbance—e.g., cosmic rays. NBDM gas should occupy central galactic regions, not halos, since self-gravitating objects are density stratified. In summary, properties of NBDM halos as postulated would result in violations of thermodynamic laws and in a universe unlike that observed.

scholarly journals N-body Simulations of Galaxy Formation

1988 ◽  
Vol 130 ◽  
pp. 259-271
Author(s):  
Carlos S. Frenk
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Large Scale Structure ◽  
High Density ◽  
Galactic Halos ◽  
Body Techniques ◽  
Massive Halos ◽  
The Universe

Modern N-body techniques allow the study of galaxy formation in the wider context of the formation of large-scale structure in the Universe. The results of such a study within the cold dark matter cosmogony are described. Dark galactic halos form at relatively recent epochs. Their properties and abundance are similar to those inferred for the halos of real galaxies. Massive halos tend to form preferentially in high density regions and as a result the galaxies that form within them are significantly more clustered than the underlying mass. This natural bias may be strong enough to reconcile the observed clustering of galaxies with the assumption that Ω = 1.

scholarly journals Formation of massive globular clusters with dark matter and its implication on dark matter annihilation

2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (1) ◽  
pp. L70-L74
Author(s):  
Henriette Wirth ◽  
Kenji Bekki ◽  
Kohei Hayashi
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Observational Studies ◽  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Dwarf Galaxies ◽  
Large Range ◽  
Dark Matter Annihilation ◽  
Central Regions ◽  
Γ Ray ◽  
The Masses

ABSTRACT Recent observational studies of γ-ray emission from massive globular clusters (GCs) have revealed possible evidence of dark matter (DM) annihilation within GCs. It is, however, still controversial whether the emission comes from DM or from millisecond pulsars. We here present the new results of numerical simulations, which demonstrate that GCs with DM can originate from nucleated dwarfs orbiting the ancient Milky Way. The simulated stripped nuclei (i.e. GCs) have the central DM densities ranging from 0.1 to several M⊙ pc−3, depending on the orbits and the masses of the host dwarf galaxies. However, GCs born outside the central regions of their hosts can have no/little DM after their hosts are destroyed and the GCs become the Galactic halo GCs. These results suggest that only GCs originating from stellar nuclei of dwarfs can possibly have DM. We further calculate the expected γ-ray emission from these simulated GCs and compare them to observations of ω Cen. Given the large range of DM densities in the simulated GCs, we suggest that the recent possible detection of DM annihilation from GCs should be more carefully interpreted.

scholarly journals The dark matter interpretation of the 3.5-keV line is inconsistent with blank-sky observations

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (6485) ◽  
pp. 1465-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Dessert ◽  
Nicholas L. Rodd ◽  
Benjamin R. Safdi
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Emission Line ◽  
Decay Rate ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Line Emission ◽  
Mass Range ◽  
Sterile Neutrinos ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Nearby Galaxies

Observations of nearby galaxies and galaxy clusters have reported an unexpected x-ray emission line around 3.5 kilo–electron volts (keV). Proposals to explain this line include decaying dark matter—in particular, that the decay of sterile neutrinos with a mass around 7 keV could match the available data. If this interpretation is correct, the 3.5-keV line should also be emitted by dark matter in the halo of the Milky Way. We used more than 30 megaseconds of XMM-Newton (X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission) blank-sky observations to test this hypothesis, finding no evidence of the 3.5-keV line emission from the Milky Way halo. We set an upper limit on the decay rate of dark matter in this mass range, which is inconsistent with the possibility that the 3.5-keV line originates from dark matter decay.

scholarly journals The Ghosts of Galaxies: Tidal Debris in Clusters

2004 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 70-76
Author(s):  
Michael D. Gregg ◽  
Michael J. West
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Surface Brightness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dwarf Galaxies ◽  
Cluster Formation ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Cluster Evolution ◽  
Low Surface Brightness ◽  
Intergalactic Space ◽  
Formation And Evolution

Gravitational interactions in rich clusters can strip material from the outer parts of galaxies or even completely disrupt entire systems, giving rise to large scale, low surface brightness ghostly features stretching across intergalactic space. The nearby Coma and Centaurus clusters both have striking examples of galaxy ghosts, in the form of 100 kpc-long plumes of intergalactic debris. By searching HST archival images, we have found numerous other examples of galaxy ghosts in rich clusters at low redshift, evidence that galaxy destruction and recycling are ubiquitous, important in cluster formation and evolution, and continue to mold clusters at the present epoch. Many ghosts appear in X-ray bright clusters, perhaps signaling a connection with energetic subcluster mergers.The fate of such material has important ramifications for cluster evolution. Our new HST WFPC2 V & I images of a portion of the Centaurus plume reveal that it contains an excess of discrete objects with −12 < MV < −6, consistent with being globular clusters or smaller dwarf galaxies. This tidally liberated material is being recycled directly into the intracluster population of stars, dwarf galaxies, globular clusters, and gas, which may have been built largely from a multitude of similar events over the life of the cluster.

scholarly journals Structure of Dark Matter Halo

1999 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. 155-155
Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Fukushige ◽  
Junichiro Makino
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Temperature Inversion ◽  
Dark Matter Halo ◽  
Temperature Structure ◽  
Galactic Halos ◽  
Dark Matter Halos ◽  
Density Profiles ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Special Purpose Computer

We performed N-body simulation on special-purpose computer, GRAPE-4, to investigate the structure of dark matter halos (Fukushige, T. and Makino, J. 1997, ApJL, 477, L9). Universal profile proposed by Navarro, Frenk, and White (1996, ApJ, 462, 563), which has cusp with density profiles ρ ∝r−1in density profile, cannot be reproduced in the standard Cold Dark Matter (CDM) picture of hierarchical clustering. Previous claims to the contrary were based on simulations with relatively few particles, and substantial softening. We performed simulations with particle numbers an order of magnitude higher, and essentially no softening, and found that typical central density profiles are clearly steeper than ρ ∝r−1, as shown in Figure 1. In addition, we confirm the presence of a temperature inversion in the inner 5 kpc of massive galactic halos, and give a natural explanation for formation of the temperature structure.

Galaxy clustering and the dark-matter problem

1986 ◽  
Vol 320 (1556) ◽  
pp. 517-541 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Density Fluctuations ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Galactic Halos ◽  
Galaxy Clustering ◽  
Simple Assumption ◽  
Scale Free ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Flat Rotation Curves

Recent observational and theoretical results on galaxy clustering are reviewed. A major difficulty in relating observations to theory is that the former refer to luminous material whereas the latter is most directly concerned with the gravitationally dominant but invisible dark matter. The simple assumption that the distribution of galaxies generally follows that of the mass appears to conflict with evidence suggesting that galaxies of different kinds are clustered in different ways. If galaxies are indeed biased tracers of the mass, then dynamical estimates of the mean cosmic density, which give Ω « 0.2 may underestimate the global value of Ω. There are now several specific models for the behaviour of density fluctuations from very early times to the present epoch. The late phases of this evolution need to be followed by N -body techniques; simulations of scale-free universes and of universes dominated by various types of elementary particles are discussed. In the former case, the models evolve in a self-similar way; the resulting correlations have a steeper slope than that oberved for the galaxy distribution unless the primordial power spectral index n « 2. Universes dominated by light neutrinos acquire a large coherence length at early times. As a result, an early filamentary phase develops into a present day distribution that is more strongly clustered than observed galaxies and is dominated by a few clumps with masses larger than those of any known object. If the dark matter consists of ‘cold’ particles such as photinos or axions, then structure builds up from subgalactic scales in a roughly hierarchical way. The observed pattern of galaxy clustering can be reproduced if either Ω « 0.2 and the galaxies are distributed as the mass, or if Ω — 1, H 0 = 50 km s -1 Mpc -1 and the galaxies form only at high peaks of the smoothed linear density field. The open model, however, is marginally ruled out by the observed small-scale isotropy of the microwave background, whereas the flat one is consistent with such observations. With no further free parameters a flat cold dark-matter universe produces the correct abundance of rich galaxy clusters and of galactic halos; the latter have flat rotation curves with amplitudes spanning the observed range. Preliminary calculations indicate that the properties of voids may be consistent with the data, but the correlations of rich clusters appear to be somewhat weaker than those reported for Abell clusters.

scholarly journals Dark matter freeze-out during matter domination

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (29) ◽  
pp. 1850181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saleh Hamdan ◽  
James Unwin
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Energy Density ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis ◽  
Hubble Rate ◽  
Dark Matter Relic Density ◽  
Relic Density ◽  
The Masses ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Freeze Out

We highlight the general scenario of dark matter freeze-out while the energy density of the universe is dominated by a decoupled non-relativistic species. Decoupling during matter domination changes the freeze-out dynamics, since the Hubble rate is parametrically different for matter and radiation domination. Furthermore, for successful Big Bang Nucleosynthesis the state dominating the early universe energy density must decay, this dilutes (or repopulates) the dark matter. As a result, the masses and couplings required to reproduce the observed dark matter relic density can differ significantly from radiation-dominated freeze-out.

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