scholarly journals Cold dark matter: Controversies on small scales

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (40) ◽  
pp. 12249-12255 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Weinberg ◽  
James S. Bullock ◽  
Fabio Governato ◽  
Rachel Kuzio de Naray ◽  
Annika H. G. Peter
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Dwarf Galaxy ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Dark Sector ◽  
Massive Galaxies ◽  
Galaxy Dynamics ◽  
Wide Range

The cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model has been remarkably successful in explaining cosmic structure over an enormous span of redshift, but it has faced persistent challenges from observations that probe the innermost regions of dark matter halos and the properties of the Milky Way’s dwarf galaxy satellites. We review the current observational and theoretical status of these “small-scale controversies.” Cosmological simulations that incorporate only gravity and collisionless CDM predict halos with abundant substructure and central densities that are too high to match constraints from galaxy dynamics. The solution could lie in baryonic physics: Recent numerical simulations and analytical models suggest that gravitational potential fluctuations tied to efficient supernova feedback can flatten the central cusps of halos in massive galaxies, and a combination of feedback and low star formation efficiency could explain why most of the dark matter subhalos orbiting the Milky Way do not host visible galaxies. However, it is not clear that this solution can work in the lowest mass galaxies, where discrepancies are observed. Alternatively, the small-scale conflicts could be evidence of more complex physics in the dark sector itself. For example, elastic scattering from strong dark matter self-interactions can alter predicted halo mass profiles, leading to good agreement with observations across a wide range of galaxy mass. Gravitational lensing and dynamical perturbations of tidal streams in the stellar halo provide evidence for an abundant population of low-mass subhalos in accord with CDM predictions. These observational approaches will get more powerful over the next few years.

scholarly journals Quantifying the power spectrum of small-scale structure in semi-analytic galaxies

2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (4) ◽  
pp. 5085-5092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Brennan ◽  
Andrew J Benson ◽  
Francis-Yan Cyr-Racine ◽  
Charles R Keeton ◽  
Leonidas A Moustakas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Power Spectrum ◽  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Scale Structure ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Structure ◽  
Mass Distributions ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Spectrum Distribution

Abstract In the cold dark matter (CDM) picture of structure formation, galaxy mass distributions are predicted to have a considerable amount of structure on small scales. Strong gravitational lensing has proven to be a useful tool for studying this small-scale structure. Much of the attention has been given to detecting individual dark matter subhaloes through lens modelling, but recent work has suggested that the full population of subhaloes could be probed using a power spectrum analysis. In this paper, we quantify the power spectrum of small-scale structure in simulated galaxies, with the goal of understanding theoretical predictions and setting the stage for using measurements of the power spectrum to test dark matter models. We use a sample of simulated galaxies generated from the galacticus semi-analytic model to determine the power spectrum distribution first in the CDM paradigm and then in a warm dark matter scenario. We find that a measurement of the slope and amplitude of the power spectrum on galaxy strong lensing scales (k ∼ 1 kpc−1) could be used to distinguish between CDM and alternate dark matter models, especially if the most massive subhaloes can be directly detected via gravitational imaging.

scholarly journals Electroweak phase transition with an SU(2) dark sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tathagata Ghosh ◽  
Huai-Ke Guo ◽  
Tao Han ◽  
Hongkai Liu
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transition ◽  
Dark Matter ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Dark Sector ◽  
Electroweak Phase Transition ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Higgs Portal

Abstract We consider a non-Abelian dark SU(2)D model where the dark sector couples to the Standard Model (SM) through a Higgs portal. We investigate two different scenarios of the dark sector scalars with Z2 symmetry, with Higgs portal interactions that can introduce mixing between the SM Higgs boson and the SM singlet scalars in the dark sector. We utilize the existing collider results of the Higgs signal rate, direct heavy Higgs searches, and electroweak precision observables to constrain the model parameters. The SU(2)D partially breaks into U(1)D gauge group by the scalar sector. The resulting two stable massive dark gauge bosons and pseudo-Goldstone bosons can be viable cold dark matter candidates, while the massless gauge boson from the unbroken U(1)D subgroup is a dark radiation and can introduce long-range attractive dark matter (DM) self-interaction, which can alleviate the small-scale structure issues. We study in detail the pattern of strong first-order phase transition and gravitational wave (GW) production triggered by the dark sector symmetry breaking, and further evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio for several proposed space interferometer missions. We conclude that the rich physics in the dark sector may be observable with the current and future measurements at colliders, DM experiments, and GW interferometers.

scholarly journals An excess of small-scale gravitational lenses observed in galaxy clusters

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 369 (6509) ◽  
pp. 1347-1351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Meneghetti ◽  
Guido Davoli ◽  
Pietro Bergamini ◽  
Piero Rosati ◽  
Priyamvada Natarajan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Galaxy Clusters ◽  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Gravitational Lenses ◽  
Strong Lensing ◽  
Luminous Matter ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
The Universe

Cold dark matter (CDM) constitutes most of the matter in the Universe. The interplay between dark and luminous matter in dense cosmic environments, such as galaxy clusters, is studied theoretically using cosmological simulations. Observations of gravitational lensing are used to characterize the properties of substructures—the small-scale distribution of dark matter—in clusters. We derive a metric, the probability of strong lensing events produced by dark-matter substructure, and compute it for 11 galaxy clusters. The observed cluster substructures are more efficient lenses than predicted by CDM simulations, by more than an order of magnitude. We suggest that systematic issues with simulations or incorrect assumptions about the properties of dark matter could explain our results.

scholarly journals Inelastic dark matter, small scale problems, and the XENON1T excess

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seungwon Baek
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Gauge Coupling ◽  
Photoelectric Effect ◽  
Elastic Cross Section ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Generic Model ◽  
Dark Sector ◽  
Relic Abundance ◽  
Inelastic Dark Matter

Abstract We study a generic model in which the dark sector is composed of a Majorana dark matter χ1, its excited state χ2, both at the electroweak scale, and a light dark photon Z′ with mz′ ∼ 10−4 eV. The light Z′ enhances the self-scattering elastic cross section χ1χ1 → χ1χ1 enough to solve the small scale problems in the N-body simulations with the cold dark matter. The dark matter communicates with the SM via kinetic mixing parameterized by ϵ. The inelastic scattering process χ1χ1 → χ2χ2 followed by the prompt decay χ2 → χ1Z′ generates energetic Z′. By setting δ ≡ mχ2− mχ1 ≃ 2.8 keV and ϵ ∼ 10−10 the excess in the electron-recoil data at the XENON1T experiment can be explained by the dark-photoelectric effect. The relic abundance of the dark matter can also be accommodated by the thermal freeze-out mechanism via the annihilation χ1χ1(χ2χ2) → Z′Z′ with the dark gauge coupling constant αX ∼ 10−3.

scholarly journals Testing a quintessence model with Yukawa interaction from cosmological observations and N-body simulations

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (1) ◽  
pp. 297-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui An ◽  
André A Costa ◽  
Linfeng Xiao ◽  
Jiajun Zhang ◽  
Bin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
Yukawa Interaction ◽  
Dark Sector ◽  
Microwave Background ◽  
Cosmological Observations ◽  
Cosmological Data ◽  
Quintessence Model

ABSTRACT We consider a quintessence model with Yukawa interaction between dark energy and dark matter and constrain this model by employing the recent cosmological data including the updated cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements from Planck 2015, the weak gravitational lensing measurements from Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS), and redshift-space distortions. We find that an interaction in the dark sector is compatible with observations. The updated Planck data can significantly improve the constraints compared with the previous results from Planck 2013, while the KiDS data have less constraining power than Planck. The Yukawa interaction model is found to be moderately favoured by Planck and able to alleviate the discordance between weak lensing measurements and CMB measurements as previously inferred from the standard Lambda cold dark matter model. N-body simulations for Yukawa interaction model is also performed. We find that using the halo density profile is plausible to improve the constraints significantly in the future.

scholarly journals NIHAO – XXV. Convergence in the cusp-core transformation of cold dark matter haloes at high star formation thresholds

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (2) ◽  
pp. 2648-2661
Author(s):  
Aaron A Dutton ◽  
Tobias Buck ◽  
Andrea V Macciò ◽  
Keri L Dixon ◽  
Marvin Blank ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Dwarf Galaxies ◽  
Dwarf Galaxy ◽  
Good Description ◽  
Good Match ◽  
Virial Mass ◽  
Density Threshold

ABSTRACT We use cosmological hydrodynamical galaxy formation simulations from the NIHAO project to investigate the response of cold dark matter (CDM) haloes to baryonic processes. Previous work has shown that the halo response is primarily a function of the ratio between galaxy stellar mass and total virial mass, and the density threshold above which gas is eligible to form stars, n[cm−3]. At low n all simulations in the literature agree that dwarf galaxy haloes are cuspy, but at high n ≳ 100 there is no consensus. We trace halo contraction in dwarf galaxies with n ≳ 100 reported in some previous simulations to insufficient spatial resolution. Provided the adopted star formation threshold is appropriate for the resolution of the simulation, we show that the halo response is remarkably stable for n ≳ 5, up to the highest star formation threshold that we test, n = 500. This free parameter can be calibrated using the observed clustering of young stars. Simulations with low thresholds n ≤ 1 predict clustering that is too weak, while simulations with high star formation thresholds n ≳ 5, are consistent with the observed clustering. Finally, we test the CDM predictions against the circular velocities of nearby dwarf galaxies. Low thresholds predict velocities that are too high, while simulations with n ∼ 10 provide a good match to the observations. We thus conclude that the CDM model provides a good description of the structure of galaxies on kpc scales provided the effects of baryons are properly captured.

scholarly journals On N-body simulations of globular cluster streams

2021 ◽  
Vol 504 (1) ◽  
pp. 648-653
Author(s):  
Nilanjan Banik ◽  
Jo Bovy
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Numerical Density ◽  
Stellar Streams ◽  
Small Scales ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Stream Density ◽  
Tidal Streams

ABSTRACT Stellar tidal streams are sensitive tracers of the properties of the gravitational potential in which they orbit and detailed observations of their density structure can be used to place stringent constraints on fluctuations in the potential caused by, e.g. the expected populations of dark matter subhaloes in the standard cold dark matter (CDM) paradigm. Simulations of the evolution of stellar streams in live N-body haloes without low-mass dark matter subhaloes, however, indicate that streams exhibit significant perturbations on small scales even in the absence of substructure. Here, we demonstrate, using high-resolution N-body simulations combined with sophisticated semi-analytical and simple analytical models, that the mass resolutions of 104–$10^5\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$ commonly used to perform such simulations cause spurious stream density variations with a similar magnitude on large scales as those expected from a CDM-like subhalo population and an order of magnitude larger on small, yet observable, scales. We estimate that mass resolutions of ${\approx}100\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$ (${\approx}1\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$) are necessary for spurious, numerical density variations to be well below the CDM subhalo expectation on large (small) scales. That streams are sensitive to a simulation’s particle mass down to such small masses indicates that streams are sensitive to dark matter clustering down to these low masses if a significant fraction of the dark matter is clustered or concentrated in this way, for example, in MACHO models with masses of 10–$100\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$.

scholarly journals Understanding the large inferred Einstein radii of observed low-mass galaxy clusters

2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (4) ◽  
pp. 4706-4712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Robertson ◽  
Richard Massey ◽  
Vincent Eke
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Galaxy Clusters ◽  
Gravitational Lensing ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Baryonic Matter ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Critical Curves ◽  
Hydrodynamical Simulation ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Main Effects

ABSTRACT We assess a claim that observed galaxy clusters with mass ${\sim}10^{14} \mathrm{\, M_\odot }$ are more centrally concentrated than predicted in lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM). We generate mock strong gravitational lensing observations, taking the lenses from a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation, and analyse them in the same way as the real Universe. The observed and simulated lensing arcs are consistent with one another, with three main effects responsible for the previously claimed inconsistency. First, galaxy clusters containing baryonic matter have higher central densities than their counterparts simulated with only dark matter. Secondly, a sample of clusters selected because of the presence of pronounced gravitational lensing arcs preferentially finds centrally concentrated clusters with large Einstein radii. Thirdly, lensed arcs are usually straighter than critical curves, and the chosen image analysis method (fitting circles through the arcs) overestimates the Einstein radii. After accounting for these three effects, ΛCDM predicts that galaxy clusters should produce giant lensing arcs that match those in the observed Universe.

scholarly journals Heating of Milky Way disc stars by dark matter fluctuations in cold dark matter and fuzzy dark matter paradigms

2019 ◽  
Vol 485 (2) ◽  
pp. 2861-2876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin V Church ◽  
Philip Mocz ◽  
Jeremiah P Ostriker
Keyword(s):  
Dark Matter ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Quantum Interference ◽  
Cold Dark Matter ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Velocity Dispersion ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Density Fluctuations ◽  
Particle Mass ◽  
Small Scale

ABSTRACT Although highly successful on cosmological scales, cold dark matter (CDM) models predict unobserved overdense ‘cusps’ in dwarf galaxies and overestimate their formation rate. We consider an ultralight axion-like scalar boson which promises to reduce these observational discrepancies at galactic scales. The model, known as fuzzy dark matter (FDM), avoids cusps, suppresses small-scale power, and delays galaxy formation via macroscopic quantum pressure. We compare the substructure and density fluctuations of galactic dark matter haloes comprised of ultralight axions to conventional CDM results. Besides self-gravitating subhaloes, FDM includes non-virialized overdense wavelets formed by quantum interference patterns, which are an efficient source of heating to galactic discs. We find that, in the solar neighbourhood, wavelet heating is sufficient to give the oldest disc stars a velocity dispersion of ${\sim } {30}{\, \mathrm{km\, s}^{-1}}$ within a Hubble time if energy is not lost from the disc, the velocity dispersion increasing with stellar age as σD ∝ t0.4 in agreement with observations. Furthermore, we calculate the radius-dependent velocity dispersion and corresponding scaleheight caused by the heating of this dynamical substructure in both CDM and FDM with the determination that these effects will produce a flaring that terminates the Milky Way disc at $15\!-\!20{\, \mathrm{kpc}}$. Although the source of thickened discs is not known, the heating due to perturbations caused by dark substructure cannot exceed the total disc velocity dispersion. Therefore, this work provides a lower bound on the FDM particle mass of ma > 0.6 × 10−22 eV. Furthermore, FDM wavelets with this particle mass should be considered a viable mechanism for producing the observed disc thickening with time.

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.

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