pith. sign in

The cold dark matter content of Galactic dwarf spheroidals: no cores, no failures, no problem

1 Pith paper cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.

1 Pith paper citing it
abstract

We examine the dark matter content of satellite galaxies in Lambda-CDM cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the Local Group from the APOSTLE project. We find excellent agreement between simulation results and estimates for the 9 brightest Galactic dwarf spheroidals (dSphs) derived from their stellar velocity dispersions and half-light radii. Tidal stripping plays an important role by gradually removing dark matter from the outside in, affecting in particular fainter satellites and systems of larger-than-average size for their luminosity. Our models suggest that tides have significantly reduced the dark matter content of Can Ven I, Sextans, Carina, and Fornax, a prediction that may be tested by comparing them with field galaxies of matching luminosity and size. Uncertainties in observational estimates of the dark matter content of individual dwarfs have been underestimated in the past, at times substantially. We use our improved estimates to revisit the `too-big-to-fail' problem highlighted in earlier N-body work. We reinforce and extend our previous conclusion that the APOSTLE simulations show no sign of this problem. The resolution does not require `cores' in the dark mass profiles, but, rather, relies on revising assumptions and uncertainties in the interpretation of observational data and accounting for `baryon effects' in the theoretical modelling.

fields

astro-ph.CO 1

years

2026 1

verdicts

UNVERDICTED 1

representative citing papers

Halo mass functions in mixed cold and fuzzy dark matter models

astro-ph.CO · 2026-06-04 · unverdicted · novelty 5.0

Simulations show fuzzy dark matter fraction up to 0.3 suppresses low-mass halos in mixed DM models, and a redshift- and fraction-dependent suppression function maps CDM HMFs to MDM HMFs within 0.1-0.2 dex accuracy for z=1-4.

citing papers explorer

Showing 1 of 1 citing paper.

  • Halo mass functions in mixed cold and fuzzy dark matter models astro-ph.CO · 2026-06-04 · unverdicted · none · ref 55 · internal anchor

    Simulations show fuzzy dark matter fraction up to 0.3 suppresses low-mass halos in mixed DM models, and a redshift- and fraction-dependent suppression function maps CDM HMFs to MDM HMFs within 0.1-0.2 dex accuracy for z=1-4.