Tag Archives: Milky Way

December 16, 2016

The Curiously Tangential Dwarf Galaxies

By darkmatterdarkenergy

There are some 50 or so satellite galaxies around the Milky Way, the most famous of which are the Magellanic Clouds. Somewhat incredibly, half of these have been discovered within the last 2 years, since they are small, faint, and have low surface brightness. The image below shows only the well known ‘classical’ satellites. The satellites are categorized primarily as dwarf spheroidals, and most are low in gas content.

640px-satellite_galaxies-svg

Image credit: Wikipedia, Richard Powell, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic

“Satellite galaxies that orbit from 1,000 ly (310 pc) of the edge of the disc of the Milky Way Galaxy to the edge of the dark matter halo of the Milky Way at 980×103 ly (300 kpc) from the center of the galaxy, are generally depleted in hydrogen gas compared to those that orbit more distantly. The reason is the dense hot gas halo of the Milky Way, which strips cold gas from the satellites. Satellites beyond that region still retain copious quantities of gas.” – Wikipedia article

In a recent paper “The tangential velocity excess of the Milky Way satellites“, Marius Cautun and Carlos Frenk find that a sample of satellites (drawn from those known for more than a few years) deviates from the predictions of the canonical Λ – Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) cosmology. (Λ refers to the cosmological constant, or dark energy).

“We estimate the systemic orbital kinematics of the Milky Way classical satellites and compare them with predictions from the Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model derived from a semi-analytical galaxy formation model applied to high resolution cosmological N-body simulations. We find that the Galactic satellite system is atypical of ΛCDM systems. The subset of 10 Galactic satellites with proper motion measurements has a velocity anisotropy, β = −2.2 ± 0.4, that lies in the 2.9% tail of the ΛCDM distribution. Individually, the Milky Way satellites have radial velocities that are lower than expected for their proper motions, with 9 out of the 10 having at most 20% of their orbital kinetic energy invested in radial motion. Such extreme values are expected in only 1.5% of ΛCDM satellites systems. This tangential motion excess is unrelated to the existence of a Galactic ‘disc of satellites’. We present theoretical predictions for larger satellite samples that may become available as more proper motion measurements are obtained.”

Radial velocities are easy, we get those from redshifts. Tangential velocities are much tougher, but can be obtained from relatively nearby objects by measuring their proper motions. That is, how much do their apparent positions change on the sky after many years have passed. It’s all the more tough when your object is not a point object, but a fuzzy galaxy!

For a ‘random’ distribution of velocities in accordance with ΛCDM cosmology, one would expect the two components of tangential velocity to be each roughly equal on average to the radial component, and thus 2/3 of the kinetic energy would be tangential and 1/3 would be radial. But rather than 33% of the kinetic energy being in radial motion, they find that the Galactic satellites have only about 1/2 that amount in radial, and over 80% of their kinetic energy in tangential motion.

Formally, they find a negative velocity anistropy, β, which as it is defined in practice, should be around zero for a ΛCDM distribution. They find that β differs from zero by 5 standard deviations.

One possible explanation is that the dwarf galaxies are mainly at their perigee or apogee points of their orbits. But why should this be the case? Another explanation: “alternatively indicate that the Galactic satellites have orbits that are, on average, closer to circular than is typical in ΛCDM. This would mean that MW halo mass estimates based on satellite orbits (e.g. Barber et al. 2014) are biased low.” Perhaps the Milky Way halo mass estimate is too low. Or, they also posit, without elaborating, do the excess tangential motions “indicate new physics in the dark sector”?

So one speculation is that the tangential motions are reflective of emergent gravity class of theories, for which dark matter is not required, but for which the gravitational force changes (strengthens) at low accelerations, of order c \cdot H, where H is the Hubble parameter, and the value works out to be around 2 centimeters per second per year. And it does this in a way that ‘spoofs’ the existence and gravitational affect of dark matter. This is also what is argued for in Modified Newtonian Dynamics, which is an empirical observation about galaxy light curves.

In the next article of this series we will look at Erik Verlinde’s emergent gravity proposal, which he has just enhanced, and will attempt to explain it as best we can. If you want to prepare yourself for this challenging adventure, first read his 2011 paper, “On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton”.

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April 9, 2016

Gamma Rays from Dark Matter at the Center of the Galaxy: Stronger Evidence

By darkmatterdarkenergy

Evidence has been growing for the detection of dark matter more directly – at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Normally, we detect dark matter through its gravitational effects only, although there have been many attempts to detect it more directly, both through laboratory experiments here on Earth and from astronomical measurements. The Earthbound experiments are inconclusive at best, with some claims of detection being contradicted by other experiments.

But the evidence for astronomical detection of dark matter is growing. Expected sources include dwarf galaxies https://darkmatterdarkenergy.com/tag/dwarf-galaxies/ that are found near our Milky Way. The low luminosity of dwarf galaxies due to stars and supernovae can make it easier to extract evidence of dark matter due to its self annihilation.

Our own Milky Way Galaxy has a higher concentration of normal matter at the center, and is expected to have a higher concentration of dark matter as well. For the past 5 years or so, there has been evidence for possible dark matter annihilation at the Galactic Center. See http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269311001742.

The mechanism is dark matter self-annihilation, resulting in the creation of decay products of ordinary matter and gamma rays (highly energetic photons). See one of my prior blogs at: https://darkmatterdarkenergy.com/tag/dark-matter-annihilation/.

The leading dark matter candidate is some sort of WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle). WIMPs interact only via gravity and perhaps the weak nuclear force. WIMP self-annihilations can produce quarks, neutrinos, gamma rays and other ordinary matter particles.

There is a known gamma ray signal in the Galactic Center (the center of our Milky Way) that extends to 5 degrees away from the center, corresponding to roughly a kiloparsec in extent (a kiloparsec is 3260 light-years, and our Sun is 8 kiloparsecs from the Center). The major alternatives for this signal appear to be dark matter annihilation, cosmic ray interactions with interstellar gas, or emission from rapidly rotating neutron stars (millisecond pulsars).

A recent paper from T. Daylan and co-authors from Harvard, MIT, Princeton, the University of Chicago and the Fermi Laboratory is titled “The Characterization of the Gamma-Ray Signal from the Central Milky Way: A Compelling Case for Annihilating Dark Matter”. They have reanalyzed observations from the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope and confirmed that the distribution of gamma rays in the Galactic Center (GC) is largely spherically symmetric and extended. This spatial distribution likely rules out neutron stars as the source, since these are preferentially found in the galactic disk. 

arxiv1402.6703v2.fig10.1to3GeV

1-3 GeV residual gamma ray image. From Fig. 10 of T. Daylan et al., this is corrected for galactic diffuse emission and has point sources subtracted. The image extends over a 10◦ by 10◦ region.

Dark matter, on the other hand, would be expected to have a roughly spherical distribution around the GC. Interstellar gas is also largely confined to the galactic disk, so this explanation is disfavored. Their study also confirms that the emission extends beyond the GC to what is known as the Inner Galaxy, further ruling out the two alternatives other than dark matter annihilation. The emission falls off in intensity away from the GC, in a manner consistent with a spherically symmetric dark matter density distribution that is in accordance with a Navarro-Frenk-White profile often used successfully in modeling dark matter halos. No evidence is found for any significant deviation from spherical symmetry for the GC and Inner Galaxy components, the latter extending out to around 2 kiloparsecs.

There are various possible annihilation channels for dark matter and the authors’ analysis appears to favor a dominant channel to primarily b quarks (and b antiquarks). In this scenario the WIMP mass appears to lie in the range of 36 to 51 GeV (by comparison a proton or neutron mass is about .94 GeV). Recall that there are 6 types of quarks, and protons and neutrons are composed of u and d (up and down) quarks. The others are b, t, c, s (bottom, top, charm and strange). The quarks other than u and d are unstable and will decay to u and d.

The spectral (energy) distribution peaks at gamma ray energies of around 1 to 3 GeV and is a good fit to the predictions for annihilation to a b quark pair (b and anti-b). In addition, the cross-section for annihilation calculated from the gamma ray intensity is consistent with that expected from the required rate of thermal production of dark matter particles in the early universe, of order 10^-26 cm^3/sec (actually a value of the cross-section multiplied by the average velocity). The observed dark matter abundance freezes out from thermal equilibrium in the early universe as it expanded and cooled, and implies a cross section of that order.

There is also the possibility for other decay channels, including decays to u, d, c, s and t quarks and to tau lepton particles. The spectral shapes disfavor decays to tau leptons and u, d quarks in particular. After decays to b quarks, the c (charm) and s (strange) quark channels are the most likely.  Either a c or s quark channel implies somewhat lower WIMP masses, around the 20 to 40 GeV range. Annihilations to other fermions appear less likely.

In summary, quoting from their paper:

“This signal consists of a very large number of events, and has been detected with overwhelming statistical significance. The the excess consists of ∼ 10,000 gamma rays per square meter, per year above 1 GeV (from within 10◦ of the Galactic Center). Not only does this large number of events enable us to conclude with confidence that the signal is present, but it also allows us to determine its spectrum and morphology in some detail. And as shown, the measured spectrum, angular distribution, and normalization of this emission does indeed match well with that expected from annihilating dark matter particles.”

“There is no reason to expect that any diffuse astrophysical emission processes would exhibit either the spectrum or the morphology of the observed signal. In particular, the spherical symmetry of the observed emission with respect to the Galactic Center does not trace any combination of astrophysical components (i.e. radiation, gas, dust, star formation, etc.), but does follow the square of the anticipated dark matter density.”

There are also possible detections, marginally significant, of gamma ray emission due to dark matter in nearby dwarf galaxies, and in the direction of the Virgo cluster. We look forward to additional observations and theoretical work to confirm dark matter annihilation signals in our own galaxy and nearby galaxies.

NEW BOOK just released:

S. Perrenod, 2016, 72 Beautiful Galaxies (especially designed for iPad, iOS; ages 12 and up)

Andromeda_galaxy_Galex

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October 16, 2014

Milky Way Dark Matter Halo Loses ‘Weight’

By darkmatterdarkenergy

640px-Milky_Way_ArchMilky Way Arch, CC BY 3.0, Bruno Gilli/ESO – http://www.eso.org/public/images/milkyway/

Mass estimates for our Milky Way vary widely, from less than 1 trillion, to as high as 4 trillion, times the mass of the Sun.

A recent paper by a group of astronomers in Australia argues for a mass that is very much at the low end of this range. Prajawal Kafle and collaborators present a kinematic analysis and build a model of the Milky Way that incorporates a disk, a bulge, and a dark matter halo. The analysis utilizes K giant and horizontal branch star catalogs.

The disk component – in which our Sun resides – contains stars and gas and active star formation from this gas. The spheroidal bulge contains the oldest stellar population of the galaxy, including globular clusters. The spherical halo, significantly larger and more massive than both the other components, is dominated by dark matter. It is chiefly responsible for the overall gravitational potential of the Milky Way, and is evidenced by the high rotational velocity of our galaxy in its outer regions.

The result of their analysis is that the dark matter halo “weighs in” at about 800 billion solar masses, the disk is about 100 billion solar masses, and the bulge is only about 10 billion solar masses. They also find a dark matter density in the solar neighborhood equivalent to about 1/3 of a proton per cubic centimeter, consistent with other estimates. (This number is important for calibrating Earth-bound direct detection experiments for dark matter.)

The relatively low mass they determine for the dark matter halo implies fewer satellite galaxies in close proximity to the Milky Way. We see only 3, the two Magellanic Clouds and the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy. In the past this has been seen as an issue for the favored Lambda – Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) Cosmology.

However their lower halo mass is actually consistent with the Milky Way gathering only 3 so-called sub-halos (satellite galaxies) and thus there may be no Missing Satellite Problem with ΛCDM. Some had suggested warm dark matter, rather than cold dark matter, may be necessary because of the putative missing satellite problem, but this may not be the case, with a lighter Milky Way dark matter halo.

Another team, Penarrubia and collaborators, has recently modeled the dynamics of the Local Group of galaxies. They are thus using a different methodology to determine the total mass of the Milky Way. They find a total mass for the Local Group of 2.3 trillion solar masses. The Local Group mass is almost entirely due to the Andromeda Galaxy and our Milky Way. They also determine a Milky Way to Amdromeda mass ratio of about 1/2. This implies a mass of about 0.8 trillion solar masses for our Milky Way, consistent with the Australian team’s result.

These two latest measurements of the Milky Way mass seem to indicate that the total mass of the Milky Way galaxy is less than 1 trillion solar masses. And these two results thus suggest that the ΛCDM cosmology is in fact consistent with the small number of satellite galaxies around our Milky Way. Another success for ΛCDM, it seems.

References:

http://article.wn.com/view/2014/10/10/Milky_Way_has_only_half_of_the_Dark_Matter_than_thought_earl/

http://arxiv.org/pdf/1408.1787v1.pdf – P. Kafle et al. 2014, “On the shoulders of giants: Properties of the stellar halo and Milky Way mass distribution”

J. Penarrubia et al. 2014, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 443, 2204, “A dynamical model of the local cosmic expansion”

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