What question did this study set out to answer?

Determine whether a constant self-interacting dark matter cross-section of 0.1 cm² g⁻¹ can sufficiently alter dwarf halo mass profiles while remaining consistent with dwarf spheroidal kinematics.

February 1, 2013Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society LettersOpen Access

Constraining self-interacting dark matter with the Milky Way’s dwarf spheroidals

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Authors

JZJesús ZavalaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México MVMark VogelsbergerUniversity of Stuttgart MWMatthew G. WalkerCarnegie Mellon University

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Implication

Simulation study reveals low scattering cross-sections fail to reproduce dwarf spheroidal kinematics, suggesting velocity-independent dark matter models face severe constraints.

Key Points

Determine whether a constant self-interacting dark matter cross-section of 0.1 cm² g⁻¹ can sufficiently alter dwarf halo mass profiles while remaining consistent with dwarf spheroidal kinematics.
Conducted high-resolution cosmological simulations of a Milky Way-sized dark matter halo using a constant cross-section per unit mass of σT/m ∼ 0.1 cm² g⁻¹.
Analyzed the resulting population of massive subhaloes and their central density profiles.
Compared simulated subhalo properties against the observed kinematics and inferred mass profile slopes of classical dwarf spheroidal galaxies, specifically Fornax and Sculptor.
A cross-section of σT/m ∼ 0.1 cm² g⁻¹ produces massive subhaloes that conflict with the observed stellar kinematics and central mass profile slopes of Fornax and Sculptor, similar to standard cold dark matter predictions.
Reconciling simulations with dwarf spheroidal kinematic observations requires a higher cross-section of σT/m ∼ 1 cm² g⁻¹ at dwarf galaxy velocity scales.
Because a cross-section of ∼ 1 cm² g⁻¹ likely violates observational constraints on galaxy cluster shapes, velocity-independent self-interacting dark matter remains viable in only a very narrow parameter window.

Cite This Study

Zavala et al. (2013) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a12e0fdc031bb6829a77801 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/sls053

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Implication

Simulation study reveals low scattering cross-sections fail to reproduce dwarf spheroidal kinematics, suggesting velocity-independent dark matter models face severe constraints.

Constraining self-interacting dark matter with the Milky Way’s dwarf spheroidals

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Constraining self-interacting dark matter with the Milky Way’s dwarf spheroidals

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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