2006/08/24 by G. Gilmore, G Gilmore, M. Wilkinson +11
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Chemical and Physical Properties of Materials #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2007.08.143
published as Nucl.Phys.Proc.Suppl.173:15-18,2007 · Presented at UCLA Dark Matter 2006 conference, March 2006. In press in Nuclear Physics B
arxiv created 2006/08/24 · openalex publication_date 2007/11/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The Milky Way satellite dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies are the smallest dark matter dominated systems in the universe. We have underway dynamical studies of the dSph to quantify the shortest scale lengths on which Dark Matter is distributed, the range of Dark Matter central densities, and the density profile(s) of DM on small scales. Current results suggest some surprises: the central DM density profile is typically cored, not cusped, with scale sizes never less than a few hundred pc; the central densities are typically 10-20 GeV/cc; no galaxy is found with a dark mass halo less massive than ~5.107 Msun. We are discovering many more dSphs, which we are analysing to test the generality of these results.