论文标题
用积聚的球状簇流探测暗物质的性质
Probing the nature of dark matter with accreted globular cluster streams
论文作者
论文摘要
低质量星系光环(例如矮星系)中暗物质(DM)的中央密度曲线的陡度是对DM性质的强大探针。我们提出了一种新的方案,以使用恒星流探测星系Subhalos的内部曲线。我们表明,吸积球簇(GC)流的当今形态和动力学特性 - 潮汐剥离最初在卫星星系中演变而成的GC产生的形态和动力学特性,后来与银河系(MW)合并 - 对中央DM密度和父母卫星的质量敏感。在cuspy CDM Subhalos中积聚的GC会产生比在核心subhalos中积聚的流相比,它们在物理上更宽且动态热。 MW流“ GD-1”和“ JHELUM”(可能是GC起源)的首次比较与我们的模拟表明对Cored Subhalos的偏爱。如果这些结果在将来的数据中得出,那么这意味着DM尖cusp是由Baryonic反馈擦除的,或者它们的Subhalos自然具有核密度曲线,这意味着CDM以外的DM模型。此外,积聚的GC流是高度结构化的,并且具有复杂的形态特征(例如,平行结构和“马刺”)。这意味着吸积方案自然可以解释一些MW流中最近观察到的特殊性。当父母Subhalo的残留物后来通过流中时,我们还提出了一种新的机制,用于在流中形成“差距”。与先前考虑的DM Subhalos相比,这种相遇可以持续更长的时间(并且具有更多的影响),因为GC流及其母体Subhalo在具有小相对速度的相似轨道上。 MW Halo的当前和将来的调查将发现许多微弱的恒星流,并通过此新的DM探测提供了证实我们初步测试所需的数据。
The steepness of the central density profiles of dark matter (DM) in low-mass galaxy halos (e.g. dwarf galaxies) is a powerful probe of the nature of DM. We propose a novel scheme to probe the inner profiles of galaxy subhalos using stellar streams. We show that the present day morphological and dynamical properties of accreted globular cluster (GC) streams - those produced from tidal stripping of GCs that initially evolved within satellite galaxies and later merged with the Milky Way (MW) - are sensitive to the central DM density profile and mass of their parent satellites. GCs that accrete within cuspy CDM subhalos produce streams that are physically wider and dynamically hotter than streams that accrete inside cored subhalos. A first comparison of MW streams "GD-1" and "Jhelum" (likely of accreted GC origin) with our simulations indicates a preference for cored subhalos. If these results hold up in future data, the implication is that either the DM cusps were erased by baryonic feedback, or their subhalos naturally possessed cored density profiles implying DM models beyond CDM. Moreover, accreted GC streams are highly structured and exhibit complex morphological features (e.g., parallel structures and "spurs"). This implies that the accretion scenario can naturally explain the recently observed peculiarities in some of the MW streams. We also propose a novel mechanism for forming "gaps" in streams when the remnant of the parent subhalo later passes through the stream. This encounter can last a longer time (and have more of an impact) than the random encounters with DM subhalos previously considered, because the GC stream and its parent subhalo are on similar orbits with small relative velocities. Current and future surveys of the MW halo will uncover numerous faint stellar streams and provide the data needed to substantiate our preliminary tests with this new probe of DM.