Dark matter halo response to the disc growth

We consider the sensitivity of the circular-orbit adiabatic contraction approximation to the baryon condensation rate and the orbital structure of dark matter haloes in the Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) paradigm. Using one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations including the dark matter halo mass accretion history and gas cooling, we demonstrate that the adiabatic approximation is approximately valid even though haloes and discs may assemble simultaneously. We further demonstrate the validity of the simple approximation for ΛCDM haloes with isotropic velocity distributions using three-dimensional N -body simulations. This result is easily understood: an isotropic velocity distribution in a cuspy halo requires more circular orbits than radial orbits. Conversely, the approximation is poor in the extreme case of a radial orbit halo. It overestimates the response of a core dark matter halo, where radial orbit fraction is larger. Because no astronomically relevant models are dominated by low angular momentum orbits in the vicinity of the disc and the growth time-scale is never shorter than a dynamical time, we conclude that the adiabatic contraction approximation is useful in modelling the response of dark matter haloes to the growth of a disc.     

The cosmological dependence of galactic specific angular momenta

Hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation in spatially flat cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies with and without a cosmological constant (Λ) are described. A simple star formation algorithm is employed and radiative cooling is allowed only after redshift z =1 so that enough hot gas is available to form large, rapidly rotating stellar discs if angular momentum is approximately conserved during collapse. The specific angular momenta of the final galaxies are found to be sensitive to the assumed background cosmology. This dependence arises from the different angular momenta contained in the haloes at the epoch when the gas begins to collapse and the inhomogeneity of the subsequent halo evolution. In the Λ-dominated cosmology, the ratio of stellar specific angular momentum to that of the dark matter halo (measured at the virial radius) has a median value of ∼0.24 at z =0. The corresponding quantity for the Λ=0 cosmology is over three times lower. It is concluded that the observed frequency and angular momenta of disc galaxies pose significant problems for spatially flat CDM models with Λ=0 but may be consistent with a Λ-dominated CDM universe.     

The formation and survival of discs in a ΛCDM universe

We study the formation of galaxies in a Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) universe using high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations with a multiphase treatment of gas, cooling and feedback, focusing on the formation of discs. Our simulations follow eight isolated haloes similar in mass to the Milky Way and extracted from a large cosmological simulation without restriction on spin parameter or merger history. This allows us to investigate how the final properties of the simulated galaxies correlate with the formation histories of their haloes. We find that, at   z = 0  , none of our galaxies contains a disc with more than 20 per cent of its total stellar mass. Four of the eight galaxies nevertheless have well-formed disc components, three have dominant spheroids and very small discs, and one is a spheroidal galaxy with no disc at all. The   z = 0  spheroids are made of old stars, while discs are younger and formed from the inside-out. Neither the existence of a disc at   z = 0  nor the final disc-to-total mass ratio seems to depend on the spin parameter of the halo. Discs are formed in haloes with spin parameters as low as 0.01 and as high as 0.05; galaxies with little or no disc component span the same range in spin parameter. Except for one of the simulated galaxies, all have significant discs at   z ≳ 2  , regardless of their   z = 0  morphologies. Major mergers and instabilities which arise when accreting cold gas is misaligned with the stellar disc trigger a transfer of mass from the discs to the spheroids. In some cases, discs are destroyed, while in others, they survive or reform. This suggests that the survival probability of discs depends on the particular formation history of each galaxy. A realistic ΛCDM model will clearly require weaker star formation at high redshift and later disc assembly than occurs in our models.     

Dwarf galaxy rotation curves and the core problem of dark matter haloes

The standard cold dark matter (CDM) model has recently been challenged by the claim that dwarf galaxies have dark matter haloes with constant-density cores, whereas CDM predicts haloes with steeply cusped density distributions. Consequently, numerous alternative dark matter candidates have recently been proposed. In this paper we scrutinize the observational evidence for the incongruity between dwarf galaxies and the CDM model. To this end, we analyse the rotation curves of 20 late-type dwarf galaxies studied by Swaters. Taking the effects of beam smearing and adiabatic contraction into account, we fit mass models to these rotation curves with dark matter haloes with different cusp slopes, ranging from constant-density cores to r ⁻² cusps. Even though the effects of beam smearing are small for these data, the uncertainties in the stellar mass-to-light ratio and the limited spatial sampling of the halo's density distribution hamper a unique mass decomposition. Consequently, the rotation curves in our sample cannot be used to discriminate between dark haloes with constant-density cores and r ⁻¹ cusps. We show that the dwarf galaxies analysed here are consistent with CDM haloes in a ΛCDM cosmology, and that there is thus no need to abandon the idea that dark matter is cold and collisionless. However, the data are also consistent with any alternative dark matter model that produces dark matter haloes with central cusps less steep than r ^−1.5. In fact, we argue that based on existing H  i rotation curves alone, at best weak limits can be obtained on cosmological parameters and/or the nature of the dark matter. In order to make progress, rotation curves with higher spatial resolution and independent measurements of the mass-to-light ratio of the disc are required.     

Mass profiles and anisotropies of early-type galaxies

We discuss the problem of using stellar kinematics of early-type galaxies to constrain the orbital anisotropies and radial mass profiles of galaxies. We demonstrate that compressing the light distribution of a galaxy along the line of sight produces approximately the same signature in the line-of-sight velocity profiles as radial anisotropy. In particular, fitting spherically symmetric dynamical models to apparently round, isotropic face-on flattened galaxies leads to a spurious bias towards radial orbits in the models, especially if the galaxy has a weak face-on stellar disc. Such face-on stellar discs could plausibly be the cause of the radial anisotropy found in spherical models of intermediate luminosity ellipticals such as NGC 2434, 3379 and 6703.
In the light of this result, we use simple dynamical models to constrain the outer mass profiles of a sample of 18 round, early-type galaxies. The galaxies follow a Tully–Fisher relation parallel to that for spiral galaxies, but fainter by at least 0.8 mag ( I -band) for a given mass. The most luminous galaxies show clear evidence for the presence of a massive dark halo, but the case for dark haloes in fainter galaxies is more ambiguous. We discuss the observations that would be required to resolve this ambiguity.     

Numerical modelling of the vertical structure and dark halo parameters in disc galaxies

The non‐linear dynamics of bending instability and vertical structure of a galactic stellar disc embedded into a spherical halo are studied with N‐body numerical modelling. Development of the bending instability in stellar galactic disc is considered as the main factor that increases the disc thickness. Correlation between the disc vertical scale height and the halo‐to‐disc mass ratio is predicted from the simulations. The method of assessment of the spherical‐to‐disc mass ratio for edge‐on spiral galaxies with a small bulge is considered. Modelling of eight edge‐on galaxies: NGC 891, NGC 4738, NGC 5170, UGC 6080, UGC 7321, UGC 8286, UGC 9422 and UGC 9556 is performed. Parameters of stellar discs, dark haloes and bulges are estimated. The lower limit of the dark‐to‐luminous mass ratio in our galaxies is of the order of one within the limits of their stellar discs. The dark haloes dominate by mass in the galaxies with very thin stellar discs (NGC 5170, UGC 7321 and UGC 8286) (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The angular momentum content of dwarf galaxies: new challenges for the theory of galaxy formation

We compute the specific angular momentum distributions for a sample of low-mass disc galaxies observed by Swaters. We compare these distributions to those of dark matter haloes obtained by Bullock et al. from high-resolution N -body simulations of structure formation in a ΛCDM universe. We find that although the disc mass fractions are significantly smaller than the universal baryon fraction, the total specific angular momenta of the discs are in good agreement with those of dark matter haloes. This suggests that discs form out of only a small fraction of the available baryons, but yet manage to draw most of the available angular momentum. In addition we find that the angular momentum distributions of discs are clearly distinct from those of the dark matter; discs lack predominantly both low and high specific angular momenta. Understanding these findings in terms of a coherent picture for disc formation is challenging. Cooling, feedback and stripping, which are the main mechanisms to explain the small disc mass fractions found, seem unable to simultaneously explain the angular momentum distributions of the discs. In fact, it seems that the baryons that make up the discs must have been born out of angular momentum distributions that are clearly distinct from those of ΛCDM haloes. However, the dark and baryonic mass components experience the same tidal forces, and it is therefore expected that they should have similar angular momentum distributions. Therefore, understanding the angular momentum content of disc galaxies remains an important challenge for our picture of galaxy formation.     

Inferring dark halo structure from observed scaling laws of late-type galaxies and LSBs

We re-examine the Fall & Efstathiou scenario for galaxy formation, including the dark halo gravitational reaction to the formation of the baryon disc, as well as continuous variations in the intrinsic halo density profile. The recently published rotation curves of low surface brightness (LSB) and dwarf galaxies together with previously known scaling relations provide sufficient information on the present-day structure of late-type disc galaxies to invert the problem. By requiring that the models reproduce all the observational restrictions we can fully constrain the initial conditions of galaxy formation, with a minimum of assumptions, in particular without the need to specify a cold dark matter (CDM) halo profile. This allows one to solve for all the initial conditions, in terms of the halo density profile, the baryon fraction and the total angular momentum. We find that a unique initial halo shape is sufficient to accurately reproduce the rotation curves of both LSB and normal late-type spiral galaxies. This unique halo profile differs substantially from that found in standard CDM models. A galactic baryon fraction of 0.065 is found. The initial value of the dimensionless angular momentum is seen to be the principal discriminator between the galaxy classes we examine. The present-day scalings between structural parameters are seen to originate in the initial conditions.     

Galactic halo cusp–core: tidal compression in mergers

We explain in simple terms how the build-up of dark haloes by merging compact satellites, as in the cold dark matter (CDM) cosmology, inevitably leads to an inner cusp of density profile  ρ∝ r ^−α  with  α≳ 1  , as seen in cosmological N -body simulations. A flatter halo core with  α < 1  exerts on the satellites tidal compression in all directions, which prevents the deposit of stripped satellite material in the core region. This makes the satellite orbits decay from the radius where  α∼ 1  to the halo centre with no local tidal mass transfer, and thus causes a rapid steepening of the inner profile to  α > 1  . These tidal effects, the resultant steepening of the profile to a cusp, and the stability of this cusp to tandem mergers with compact satellites are demonstrated using N -body simulations. The transition at  α∼ 1  is then addressed using toy models in the limiting cases of impulse and adiabatic approximations and using tidal radii for satellites on radial and circular orbits. In an associated paper, we address the subsequent slow convergence from either side to an asymptotic stable cusp with  α≳ 1  . Our analysis thus implies that an inner cusp is enforced when small haloes are typically more compact than larger haloes, as in the CDM scenario, such that enough satellite material makes it intact into the inner halo and is deposited there. We conclude that a necessary condition for maintaining a flat core, as indicated by observations, is that the inner regions of the CDM satellite haloes be puffed up by about 50 per cent such that when they merge into a larger halo they would be disrupted outside the halo core. This puffing up could be due to baryonic feedback processes in small haloes, which may be stimulated by the tidal compression in the halo cores.     

Elliptical galaxies from mergers of discs

We analyse N -body galaxy merger experiments involving disc galaxies. Mergers of disc–bulge–halo models are compared to those of bulgeless, disc–halo models to quantify the effects of the central bulge on merger dynamics and the structure of the remnant. Our models explore galaxy mass ratios 1:1 through 3:1, and use higher bulge mass fractions than previous studies. A full comparison of the structural and dynamical properties with our observations is carried out. The presence of central bulges results in longer tidal tails, oblate final intrinsic shapes, surface brightness profiles with a higher Sérsic index, steeper rotation curves and oblate-rotator internal dynamics. Mergers of bulgeless galaxies do not generate long-lasting tidal tails, and their strong triaxiality seems inconsistent with observations; these remnants show shells, which we do not find in models including central bulges. Giant ellipticals with boxy isophotes and anisotropic dynamics cannot be produced by the mergers modelled here; they could be the result of mergers between lower luminosity ellipticals, themselves plausibly formed in disc-disc mergers.     

Tidal tails of star clusters

Based on recent findings of a formation mechanism of substructure in tidal tails by Küpper et al., we investigate a more comprehensive set of N -body models of star clusters on orbits about a Milky Way like potential. We find that the predicted epicyclic overdensities arise in any tidal tail no matter which orbit the cluster follows as long as the cluster lives long enough for the overdensities to build up.
The distance of the overdensities along the tidal tail from the cluster centre depends for circular orbits only on the mass of the cluster and the strength of the tidal field, and therefore decreases monotonically with time, while for eccentric orbits the orbital motion influences the distance, causing a periodic compression and stretching of the tails and making the distance oscillate with time. We provide an approximation for estimating the distance of the overdensities in this case.
We describe an additional type of overdensity which arises in extended tidal tails of clusters on eccentric orbits, when the acceleration of the tidal field on the stellar stream is no longer homogeneous. Moreover, we conclude that a pericentre passage or a disc shock is not the direct origin of an overdensity within a tidal tail. Escape due to such tidal perturbations does not take place immediately after the perturbation but is rather delayed and spread over the orbit of the cluster. All observable overdensities are therefore of the mentioned two types. In particular, we note that substructured tidal tails do not imply the existence of dark matter substructures in the haloes of galaxies.     

Survival of substructure within dark matter haloes

Using high-resolution cosmological N -body simulations, we investigate the survival of dark matter satellites falling into larger haloes. Satellites preserve their identity for some time after merging. We compute their loss of mass, energy and angular momentum as they are dissolved by dynamical friction, tidal forces and collisions with other satellites. We also analyse the evolution of their internal structure. Satellites with less than a few per cent of the mass of the main halo may survive for several billion years, whereas larger satellites rapidly sink into the centre of the main halo potential well and lose their identity. Penetrating encounters between satellites are frequent and may lead to significant mass loss and disruption. Only a minor fraction of cluster mass (10–15 per cent on average) is bound to substructure at most redshifts of interest. We discuss the application of these results to the survival and extent of dark matter haloes associated with galaxies in clusters, and to their interactions. We find that a minor fraction of galaxy-size dark matter haloes are disrupted by redshift z  = 0. The fraction of satellites undergoing close encounters is similar to the observed fraction of interacting or merging galaxies in clusters at moderate redshift.     

Global environmental effects versus galaxy interactions

We explore properties of close galaxy pairs and merging systems selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 in different environments with the aim to assess the relative importance of the role of interactions over global environmental processes. For this purpose, we perform a comparative study of galaxies with and without close companions as a function of local density and host halo mass, carefully removing sources of possible biases. We find that at low- and high-local-density environments, colours and concentration indices of close galaxy pairs are very similar to those of isolated galaxies. At intermediate densities, we detect significant differences, indicating that close pairs could have experienced a more rapid transition on to the red sequence than isolated galaxies. The presence of a correlation between concentration index and colours indicates that the physical mechanism responsible for the colour transformation also operates in the transformation of the luminous matter distribution. At fixed local densities, we find a dependence of the red galaxy fraction on dark matter halo mass for galaxies with or without a close companion. This suggests the action of host halo mass related effects. Regardless of dark matter halo mass, we show that the percentage of red galaxies in close pairs and in the control sample are comparable at low- and high-local-density environments. However, at intermediate local densities, the gap in the red fraction between close pairs and the control galaxies increases from ∼10 per cent in low-mass haloes up to ∼50 per cent in the most massive ones. Interestingly, we also detect that 50 per cent of merging systems populate the intermediate local environments, with a large fraction of them being extremely red and bulge dominated. Our findings suggest that in intermediate-density environments galaxies are efficiently pre-processed by close encounters and mergers before entering higher local density regions.     

Halo masses for optically selected and for radio-loud AGN from clustering and galaxy–galaxy lensing

We compute two-point correlation functions and measure the shear signal due to galaxy–galaxy lensing for 80 000 optically identified and 5700 radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) from Data Release 4 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Halo occupation models are used to estimate halo masses and satellite fractions for these two types of AGN. The large sample size allows us to separate AGN according to the stellar mass of their host galaxies. We study how the halo masses of optical and radio AGN differ from those of the parent population at fixed   M _*  . Halo masses deduced from clustering and from lensing agree satisfactorily. Radio AGN are found in more massive haloes than optical AGN: in our samples, their mean halo masses are  1.6 × 10¹³  and  8 × 10¹¹  h ⁻¹ M_⊙  , respectively. Optical AGN follow the same relation between stellar mass and halo mass as galaxies selected without regard to nuclear properties, but radio-loud AGN deviate significantly from this relation. The dark matter haloes of radio-loud AGN are about twice as massive as those of control galaxies of the same stellar mass. This boost is independent of radio luminosity, and persists even when our analysis is restricted to field galaxies. The large-scale gaseous environment of the galaxy clearly plays a crucial role in producing observable radio emission. The dark matter halo masses that we derive for the AGN in our two samples are in good agreement with recent models in which feedback from radio AGN becomes dominant in haloes where gas cools quasi-statically.     

The growth of central and satellite galaxies in cosmological smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations

We examine the accretion and merger histories of central and satellite galaxies in a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) cosmological simulation that resolves galaxies down to  7 × 10⁹ M_⊙  . Most friends-of-friends haloes in the simulation have a distinct central galaxy, typically 2–5 times more massive than the most massive satellite. As expected, satellites have systematically higher assembly redshifts than central galaxies of the same baryonic mass, and satellites in more massive haloes form earlier. However, contrary to the simplest expectations, satellite galaxies continue to accrete gas and convert it to stars; the gas accretion declines steadily over a period of 0.5–1 Gyr after the satellite halo merges with a larger parent halo. Satellites in a cluster mass halo eventually begin to lose baryonic mass. Typically, satellites in our simulation are 0.1–0.2 mag bluer than in models that assume no gas accretion on to satellites after a halo merger. Since   z = 1  , 27 per cent of central galaxies (above  3 × 10¹⁰ M_⊙  ) and 22 per cent of present-day satellite galaxies have merged with a smaller system above a 1:4 mass ratio; about half of the satellite mergers occurred after the galaxy became a satellite and half before. In effect, satellite galaxies can remain 'central' objects of halo substructures, with continuing accretion and mergers, making the transition in assembly histories and physical properties a gradual one. Implementing such a gradual transformation in semi-analytic models would improve their agreement with observed colour distributions of satellite galaxies in groups and with the observed colour dependence of galaxy clustering.     

On the assembly history of dark matter haloes

We study the mass assembly history (MAH) of dark matter haloes. We compare MAHs obtained using (i) merger trees constructed with the extended Press–Schechter (EPS) formalism, (ii) numerical simulations and (iii) the Lagrangian perturbation code pinocchio . We show that the pinocchio MAHs are in excellent agreement with those obtained using numerical simulations, while the EPS formalism predicts MAHs that occur too late. pinocchio , which is much less CPU intensive than N -body simulation, can be run on a simple personal computer, and does not require any labour intensive post-simulation analysis, therefore provides a unique and powerful tool to investigate the growth history of dark matter haloes. Using a suite of 55 pinocchio simulations, with 256³ particles each, we study the MAHs of 12 924 cold dark matter (CDM) haloes in a ΛCDM concordance cosmology. This is by far the largest set of haloes used for any such analysis. For each MAH we derive four different formation redshifts, which characterize different epochs during the assembly history of a dark matter halo. We show that haloes less massive than the characteristic non-linear mass scale establish their potential wells much before they acquire most of their mass. The time when a halo reaches its maximum virial velocity roughly divides its mass assembly into two phases, a fast-accretion phase which is dominated by major mergers, and a slow-accretion phase dominated by minor mergers. Each halo experiences about 3 ± 2 major mergers since its main progenitor had a mass equal to 1 per cent of the final halo mass. This major merger statistic is found to be virtually independent of halo mass. However, the average redshift at which these major mergers occur is strongly mass dependent, with more massive haloes experiencing their major mergers later.     

GHASP: an Hα kinematic survey of spiral and irregular galaxies – V. Dark matter distribution in 36 nearby spiral galaxies

The results obtained from a study of the mass distribution of 36 spiral galaxies are presented. The galaxies were observed using Fabry–Perot interferometry as part of the GHASP survey. The main aim of obtaining high-resolution Hα 2D velocity fields is to define more accurately the rising part of the rotation curves which should allow to better constrain the parameters of the mass distribution. The Hα velocities were combined with low resolution H  i data from the literature, when available. Combining the kinematical data with photometric data, mass models were derived from these rotation curves using two different functional forms for the halo: an isothermal sphere (ISO) and a Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) profile. For the galaxies already modelled by other authors, the results tend to agree. Our results point at the existence of a constant density core in the centre of the dark matter haloes rather than a cuspy core, whatever the type of the galaxy from Sab to Im. This extends to all types the result already obtained by other authors studying dwarf and low surface brightness galaxies but would necessitate a larger sample of galaxies to conclude more strongly. Whatever model is used (ISO or NFW), small core radius haloes have higher central densities, again for all morphological types. We confirm different halo scaling laws, such as the correlations between the core radius and the central density of the halo with the absolute magnitude of a galaxy: low-luminosity galaxies have small core radius and high central density. We find that the product of the central density with the core radius of the dark matter halo is nearly constant, whatever the model and whatever the absolute magnitude of the galaxy. This suggests that the halo surface density is independent from the galaxy type.     

Dark matter subhaloes in numerical simulations

We use cosmological Λ cold dark matter (CDM) numerical simulations to model the evolution of the substructure population in 16 dark matter haloes with resolutions of up to seven million particles within the virial radius. The combined substructure circular velocity distribution function (VDF) for hosts of 10¹¹ to  10¹⁴ M_⊙  at redshifts from zero to two or higher has a self-similar shape, is independent of host halo mass and redshift, and follows the relation  d n /d v = (1/8)( v _cmax/ v _cmax,host)⁻⁴  . Halo to halo variance in the VDF is a factor of roughly 2 to 4. At high redshifts, we find preliminary evidence for fewer large substructure haloes (subhaloes). Specific angular momenta are significantly lower for subhaloes nearer the host halo centre where tidal stripping is more effective. The radial distribution of subhaloes is marginally consistent with the mass profile for   r ≳ 0.3 r _vir  , where the possibility of artificial numerical disruption of subhaloes can be most reliably excluded by our convergence study, although a subhalo distribution that is shallower than the mass profile is favoured. Subhalo masses but not circular velocities decrease towards the host centre. Subhalo velocity dispersions hint at a positive velocity bias at small radii. There is a weak bias towards more circular orbits at lower redshift, especially at small radii. We additionally model a cluster in several power-law cosmologies of   P ∝ kⁿ   , and demonstrate that a steeper spectral index, n , results in significantly less substructure.     

Point spread function tails and the measurements of diffuse stellar halo light around edge-on disc galaxies

Measuring the integrated stellar halo light around galaxies is very challenging. The surface brightness of these haloes is expected to be many magnitudes below dark sky and the central brightness of the galaxy. Here, I show that in some of the recent literature the effect of very extended Point Spread Function (PSF) tails on the measurements of halo light has been underestimated; especially in the case of edge-on disc galaxies. The detection of a halo along the minor axis of an edge-on galaxy in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field can largely be explained by scattered galaxy light. Similarly, depending on filter and the shape one assumes for the uncertain extended PSF, 20–80 per cent of the halo light found along the minor axis of scaled and stacked Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) edge-on galaxy images can be explained by scattered galaxy light. Scattered light also significantly contributes to the anomalous halo colours of stacked SDSS images. The scattered light fraction decreases when looking in the quadrants away from the minor axis. The remaining excess light is well modelled with a Sérsic profile halo with shape parameters based on star count halo detections of nearby galaxies. Even though, the contribution from PSF scattered light does not fully remove the need for extended components around these edge-on galaxies, it will be very challenging to make accurate halo light shape and colour measurements from integrated light without very careful PSF measurements and scattered light modelling.