Project Dinos II: Redshift evolution of dark and luminous matter density profiles in strong-lensing elliptical galaxies across $0.1 < z < 0.9$

We present a new measurement of the dark and luminous matter distribution of massive elliptical galaxies, and their evolution with redshift, by combining strong lensing and dynamical observables. Our sample of 58 lens galaxies covers a redshift range of 0.090≤ zₗ≤0.884. By combining new Hubble Space Telescope imaging with previously observed velocity dispersion and line-of-sight measurements, we decompose the luminous matter profile from the dark matter profile and perform a Bayesian hierarchical analysis to constrain the population-level properties of both profiles. We find that the inner slope of the dark matter density profile ("cusp"; ρDM∝ r^-γᵢₙ) is slightly steeper (μ_γᵢₙ=1.18+0.03-0.03 at $z=0.35$ with ≤0.16 intrinsic scatter) than a standard Navarro$-$Frenk$-$White (NFW; γᵢₙ=1), with an appreciable evolution with redshift (dlog(γᵢₙ)/dz=-0.33±0.13) and is consistent with NFW-like distributions at higher redshifts (z≥0.56 for ≤1σ consistency). Additionally, we find the stellar mass-to-light ratio at the population level consistent with that of a Salpeter initial mass function, a small stellar mass-to-light gradient (κ*(r)∝ r-η, with η̄≤9.4×10⁻³), and isotropic stellar orbits. Our averaged total mass density profile is consistent with a power-law profile within $0.25-4$ Einstein radii (γ̄=2.14±0.06), with an internal mass-sheet transformation parameter λ̄=1.02±0.01 consistent with no mass sheet. Our findings confirm the validity of the standard mass models used for time-delay cosmography. However, our results are in strong tension with predictions from hydrodynamical simulations such as IllustrisTNG, highlighting the need to better understand the formation of massive galaxies.