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Andrey V. Kravtsov

Publications and source records attributed to Andrey V. Kravtsov.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Non-universal star formation efficiency in turbulent ISM

We present a study of a star formation prescription in which star formation efficiency depends on local gas density and turbulent velocity dispersion, as suggested by direct simulations of SF in turbulent giant molecular clouds (GMCs). We test the model using a simulation of an isolated Milky Way-sized galaxy with a self-consistent treatment of turbulence on unresolved scales. We show that this prescription predicts a wide variation of local star formation efficiency per free-fall time, $ε_{\rm ff} \sim 0.1 - 10\%$, and gas depletion time, $t_{\rm dep} \sim 0.1 - 10$ Gyr. In addition, it predicts an effective density threshold for star formation due to suppression of $ε_{\rm ff}$ in warm diffuse gas stabilized by thermal pressure. We show that the model predicts star formation rates in agreement with observations from the scales of individual star-forming regions to the kiloparsec scales. This agreement is non-trivial, as the model was not tuned in any way and the predicted star formation rates on all scales are determined by the distribution of the GMC-scale densities and turbulent velocities $σ$ in the cold gas within the galaxy, which is shaped by galactic dynamics. The broad agreement of the star formation prescription calibrated in the GMC-scale simulations with observations, both gives credence to such simulations and promises to put star formation modeling in galaxy formation simulations on a much firmer theoretical footing.

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Column Density Profiles of Multi-Phase Gaseous Halos

We analyze circumgalactic medium (CGM) in a suite of high-resolution cosmological re-simulations of a Milky-Way size galaxy and show that CGM properties are quite sensitive to details of star formation--feedback loop modelling. The simulation that produces a realistic late-type galaxy, fails to reproduce existing observations of the CGM. In contrast, simulation that does not produce a realistic galaxy has the predicted CGM in better agreement with observations. This illustrates that properties of galaxies and properties of their CGM provide strong ${\it complementary}$ constraints on the processes governing galaxy formation. Our simulations predict that column density profiles of ions are well described by an exponential function of projected distance $d$: $N \propto e^{-d/h_s}$. Simulations thus indicate that the sharp drop in absorber detections at larger distances in observations does not correspond to a "boundary" of an ion, but reflects the underlying steep exponential column density profile. Furthermore, we find that ionization energy of ions is tightly correlated with the scale height $h_s$: $h_s \propto E_{\rm ion}^{0.74}$. At $z \approx 0$, warm gas traced by low-ionization species (e.g., Mg II and C IV) has $ h_s \approx 0.03-0.07 R_{\rm vir}$, while higher ionization species (O VI and Ne VIII) have $h_s \approx 0.32-0.45R_{\rm vir}$. Finally, the scale heights of ions in our simulations evolve slower than the virial radius for $z\leq 2$, but similarly to the halo scale radius, $r_s$. Thus, we suggest that the column density profiles of galaxies at different redshifts should be scaled by $r_s$ rather than the halo virial radius.

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Detection of the Splashback Radius and Halo Assembly bias of Massive Galaxy Clusters

We show that the projected number density profiles of SDSS photometric galaxies around galaxy clusters displays strong evidence for the splashback radius, a sharp halo edge corresponding to the location of the first orbital apocenter of satellite galaxies after their infall. We split the clusters into two subsamples with different mean projected radial distances of their members, $\langle R_{\rm mem}\rangle$, at fixed richness and redshift, and show that the sample with smaller $\langle R_{\rm mem}\rangle$ has a smaller ratio of the splashback radius to the traditional halo boundary $R_{\rm 200m}$, than the subsample with larger $\langle R_{\rm mem}\rangle$, indicative of different mass accretion rates for the two subsamples. The same cluster samples were recently used by Miyatake et al. to show that their large-scale clustering differs despite their similar weak lensing masses, demonstrating strong evidence for halo assembly bias. We expand on this result by presenting a 6.6-$σ$ detection of halo assembly bias using the cluster-photometric galaxy cross-correlations. Our measured splashback radii are smaller, while the strength of the assembly bias signal is stronger, than expectations from N-body simulations based on the $Λ$-dominated, cold dark matter structure formation model. Dynamical friction or cluster-finding systematics such as miscentering or projection effects are not likely to be the sole source of these discrepancies.

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The impact of stellar feedback on the structure, size and morphology of galaxies in Milky Way size dark matter haloes

We use cosmological zoom-in simulations of galaxy formation in a Milky Way (MW)-sized halo started from identical initial conditions to investigate the evolution of galaxy sizes, baryon fractions, morphologies and angular momenta in runs with different parameters of the star formation--feedback cycle. Our fiducial model with a high local star formation efficiency, which results in efficient feedback, produces a realistic late-type galaxy that matches the evolution of basic properties of late-type galaxies: stellar mass, disk size, morphology dominated by a kinematically cold disk, stellar and gas surface density profiles, and specific angular momentum. We argue that feedback's role in this success is twofold: (1) removal of low-angular momentum gas and (2) maintaining a low disk-to-halo mass fraction which suppresses disk instabilities that lead to angular momentum redistribution and a central concentration of baryons. However, our model with a low local star formation efficiency, but large energy input per supernova, chosen to produce a galaxy with a similar star formation history as our fiducial model, leads to a highly irregular galaxy with no kinematically cold component, overly extended stellar distribution and low angular momentum. This indicates that only when feedback is allowed to become vigorous via locally efficient star formation in dense cold gas, resulting galaxy sizes, gas/stellar surface density profiles and stellar disk angular momenta agree with observed $z=0$ galaxies.

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On the interplay between star formation and feedback in galaxy formation simulations

We investigate the star formation-feedback cycle in cosmological galaxy formation simulations, focusing on progenitors of Milky Way (MW)-sized galaxies. We find that in order to reproduce key properties of the MW progenitors, such as semi-empirically derived star formation histories and the shape of rotation curves, our implementation of star formation and stellar feedback requires 1) a combination of local early momentum feedback via radiation pressure and stellar winds and subsequent efficient supernovae feedback, and 2) efficacy of feedback that results in self-regulation of the global star formation rate on kiloparsec scales. We show that such feedback-driven self-regulation is achieved globally for a local star formation efficiency per free fall time of $ε_{\rm ff}\approx 10\%$. Although this value is larger that the $ε_{\rm ff}\sim 1\%$ value usually inferred from the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation, we show that it is consistent with direct observational estimates of $ε_{\rm ff}$ in molecular clouds. Moreover, we show that simulations with local efficiency of $ε_{\rm ff}\approx 10\%$ reproduce the global observed KS relation. Such simulations also reproduce the cosmic star formation history of the Milky Way sized galaxies and satisfy a number of other observational constraints. Conversely, we find that simulations that a priori assume an inefficient mode of star formation, instead of achieving it via stellar feedback regulation, fail to produce sufficiently vigorous outflows and do not reproduce observations. This illustrates the importance of understanding the complex interplay between star formation and feedback and the detailed processes that contribute to the feedback-regulated formation of galaxies.

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A universal model for halo concentrations

We present a numerical study of dark matter halo concentrations in $Λ$CDM and self-similar cosmologies. We show that the relation between concentration, $c$, and peak height, $ν$, exhibits the smallest deviations from universality if halo masses are defined with respect to the critical density of the universe. These deviations can be explained by the residual dependence of concentration on the local slope of the matter power spectrum, $n$, which affects both the normalization and shape of the $c$-$ν$ relation. In particular, there is no well-defined floor in the concentration values. Instead, the minimum concentration depends on redshift: at fixed $ν$, halos at higher $z$ experience steeper slopes $n$, and thus have lower minimum concentrations. We show that the concentrations in our simulations can be accurately described by a universal seven-parameter function of only $ν$ and $n$. This model matches our $Λ$CDM results to $\lesssim 5\%$ accuracy up to $z = 6$, and matches scale-free $Ω_{\rm m} = 1$ models to $\lesssim 15\%$. The model also reproduces the low concentration values of Earth--mass halos at $z \approx 30$, and thus correctly extrapolates over $16$ orders of magnitude in halo mass. The predictions of our model differ significantly from all models previously proposed in the literature at high masses and redshifts. Our model is in excellent agreement with recent lensing measurements of cluster concentrations.

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On the mass of the Local Group

We use recent proper motion measurements of the tangential velocity of M31, along with its radial velocity and distance, to derive the likelihood of the sum of halo masses of the Milky Way and M31. This is done using a sample halo pairs in the Bolshoi cosmological simulation of $Λ$CDM cosmology selected to match properties and environment of the Local Group. The resulting likelihood gives estimate of the sum of masses of $M_{\rm MW,200}+M_{\rm M31,200}=$ $2.40_{-1.05}^{+1.95}\times10^{12}\,M_{\odot}$ ($90\%$ confidence interval). This estimate is consistent with individual mass estimates for the Milky Way and M31 and is consistent, albeit somewhat on the low side, with the mass estimated using the timing argument. We show that although the timing argument is unbiased on average for all pairs, for pairs constrained to have radial and tangential velocities similar to that of the Local Group the argument overestimates the sum of masses by a factor of $1.6$. Using similar technique we estimate the total dark matter mass enclosed within $1$ Mpc from the Local Group barycenter to be $M_{\rm LG}(r<1\, {\rm Mpc})=4.2_{-2.0}^{+3.4}\times10^{12}\,M_{\odot}$ ($90\%$ confidence interval).

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Dependence of the outer density profiles of halos on their mass accretion rate

We present a systematic study of the density profiles of LCDM halos, focusing on the outer regions, 0.1 < r/Rvir < 9. We show that the median and mean profiles of halo samples of a given peak height exhibit significant deviations from the universal analytic profiles discussed previously in the literature, such as the Navarro-Frenk-White and Einasto profiles, at radii r > 0.5 R200m. In particular, at these radii the logarithmic slope of the median density profiles of massive or rapidly accreting halos steepens more sharply than predicted. The steepest slope of the profiles occurs at r ~ R200m, and its absolute value increases with increasing peak height or mass accretion rate, reaching slopes of -4 and steeper. Importantly, we find that the outermost density profiles at r > R200m are remarkably self-similar when radii are rescaled by R200m. This self-similarity indicates that radii defined with respect to the mean density are preferred for describing the structure and evolution of the outer profiles. However, the inner density profiles are most self-similar when radii are rescaled by R200c. We propose a new fitting formula that describes the median and mean profiles of halo samples selected by their peak height or mass accretion rate with accuracy < 10% at all radii, redshifts and masses we studied, r < 9 Rvir, 0 < z < 6 and Mvir > 1.7E10 Msun/h. We discuss observational signatures of the profile features described above, and show that the steepening of the outer profile should be detectable in future weak-lensing analyses of massive clusters. Such observations could be used to estimate the mass accretion rate of cluster halos.

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The AGORA High-Resolution Galaxy Simulations Comparison Project

We introduce the AGORA project, a comprehensive numerical study of well-resolved galaxies within the LCDM cosmology. Cosmological hydrodynamic simulations with force resolutions of ~100 proper pc or better will be run with a variety of code platforms to follow the hierarchical growth, star formation history, morphological transformation, and the cycle of baryons in and out of 8 galaxies with halo masses M_vir ~= 1e10, 1e11, 1e12, and 1e13 Msun at z=0 and two different ("violent" and "quiescent") assembly histories. The numerical techniques and implementations used in this project include the smoothed particle hydrodynamics codes GADGET and GASOLINE, and the adaptive mesh refinement codes ART, ENZO, and RAMSES. The codes will share common initial conditions and common astrophysics packages including UV background, metal-dependent radiative cooling, metal and energy yields of supernovae, and stellar initial mass function. These are described in detail in the present paper. Subgrid star formation and feedback prescriptions will be tuned to provide a realistic interstellar and circumgalactic medium using a non-cosmological disk galaxy simulation. Cosmological runs will be systematically compared with each other using a common analysis toolkit, and validated against observations to verify that the solutions are robust - i.e., that the astrophysical assumptions are responsible for any success, rather than artifacts of particular implementations. The goals of the AGORA project are, broadly speaking, to raise the realism and predictive power of galaxy simulations and the understanding of the feedback processes that regulate galaxy "metabolism." The proof-of-concept dark matter-only test of the formation of a galactic halo with a z=0 mass of M_vir ~= 1.7e11 Msun by 9 different versions of the participating codes is also presented to validate the infrastructure of the project.

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On the evolution of cluster scaling relations

Understanding the evolution of scaling relations between the observable properties of clusters and their total mass is key to realizing their potential as cosmological probes. In this study, we investigate whether the evolution of cluster scaling relations is affected by the spurious evolution of mass caused by the evolving reference density with respect to which halo masses are defined (pseudo-evolution). We use the relation between mass, M, and velocity dispersion, sigma, as a test case, and show that the deviation from the M-sigma relation of cluster-sized halos caused by pseudo-evolution is smaller than 10% for a wide range of mass definitions. The reason for this small impact is a tight relation between the velocity dispersion and mass profiles, sigma(<r) = const * (GM(<r) / r)^1/2, which holds across a wide range of radii. We show that such a relation is generically expected for a variety of density profiles, as long as halos are in approximate Jeans equilibrium. Thus, as the outer "virial" radius used to define the halo mass, R, increases due to pseudo-evolution, halos approximately preserve their M-sigma relation. This result highlights the fact that tight scaling relations are the result of tight equilibrium relations between radial profiles of physical quantities. We find exceptions at very small and very large radii, where the profiles deviate from the relations they exhibit at intermediate radii. We discuss the implications of these results for other cluster scaling relations, and argue that pseudo-evolution should have a small effect on most scaling relations, except for those that involve the stellar masses of galaxies. In particular, we show that the relation between stellar-mass fraction and total mass is affected by pseudo-evolution and is largely shaped by it for halo masses of less than 10^14 solar masses.

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Modelling mass distribution in elliptical galaxies: mass profiles and their correlation with velocity dispersion profiles

We assemble a statistical set of global mass models for ~2,000 nearly spherical SDSS galaxies at a mean redshift of 0.12 based on their aperture velocity dispersions and newly derived luminosity profiles in conjunction with published velocity dispersion profiles and empirical properties and relations of galaxy and halo parameters. When two-component (i.e. stellar plus dark) mass models are fitted to the SDSS aperture velocity dispersions, the predicted velocity dispersion profile (VP) slopes within the effective radius R_eff match well the distribution in observed elliptical galaxies. In contrast, the single-component models cannot reproduce the VP slope distribution. From a number of input variations the models exhibit for the radial range 0.1 R_eff < r < R_eff a tight correlation =(1.865+/-0.008)+(-4.93+/-0.15) where is the mean slope absolute value of the total mass density and is the mean slope of the velocity dispersion profile, which leads to a super-isothermal = 2.15+/-0.04 for =-0.058+/-0.008 in observed elliptical galaxies. Furthermore, the successful two-component models appear to imply a typical slope curvature pattern in the total mass profile because for the observed steep luminosity (stellar mass) profile and the weak lensing inferred halo profile at large radii a total mass profile with monotonically varying slope would require too high DM density in the optical region giving rise to too large aperture velocity dispersion and too shallow VP.

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Simulations of disk galaxies with cosmic ray driven galactic winds

We present results from high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of isolated SMC- and Milky Way-sized galaxies that include a model for feedback from galactic cosmic rays (CRs). We find that CRs are naturally able to drive winds with mass loading factors of up to ~10 in dwarf systems. The scaling of the mass loading factor with circular velocity between the two simulated systems is consistent with \propto v_c^{1-2} required to reproduce the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function. In addition, simulations with CR feedback reproduce both the normalization and the slope of the observed trend of wind velocity with galaxy circular velocity. We find that winds in simulations with CR feedback exhibit qualitatively different properties compared to SN driven winds, where most of the acceleration happens violently in situ near star forming sites. In contrast, the CR-driven winds are accelerated gently by the large-scale pressure gradient established by CRs diffusing from the star-forming galaxy disk out into the halo. The CR-driven winds also exhibit much cooler temperatures and, in the SMC-sized system, warm (T~10^4 K) gas dominates the outflow. The prevalence of warm gas in such outflows may provide a clue as to the origin of ubiquitous warm gas in the gaseous halos of galaxies detected via absorption lines in quasar spectra.

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Satellites in MW-like hosts: Environment dependence and close pairs

Previous studies showed that an estimate of the likelihood distribution of the Milky Way halo mass can be derived using the properties of the satellites similar to the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC). However, it would be straightforward to interpret such an estimate only if the properties of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) are fairly typical and are not biased by the environment. In this study we explore whether the environment of the Milky Way affects the properties of the SMC and LMC such as their velocities. To test for the effect of the environment, we compare velocity distributions for MC-sized subhalos around Milky Way hosts in a sample selected simply by mass and in the second sample of such halos selected with additional restrictions on the distance to the nearest cluster and the local galaxy density, designed to mimic the environment of the Local Group (LG). We find that satellites in halos in the LG-like environments do have somewhat larger velocities, as compared to the halos of similar mass in the sample without environmental constraints. We derive the host halo likelihood distribution for the samples in the LG-like envirionment and in the control sample and find that the environment does not significantly affect the derived likelihood. We use the updated properties of the SMC and LMC to derive the constraint on the MW halo mass $\log{({\rm M}_{200} /\msol)}=12.06^{+0.31}_{-0.19}$ (90% confidence interval). We also explore the incidence of close pairs with relative velocities and separations similar to those of the LMC and SMC and find that such pairs are quite rare among $Λ$CDM halos. Taking into account the close separation of the MCs in the Busha et al.\ 2011 method results in the shift of the MW halo mass estimate to smaller masses, with the peak shifting approximately by a factor of two.[Abridged]

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On the Origin of the High Column Density Turnover in the HI Column Density Distribution

We study the high column density regime of the HI column density distribution function and argue that there are two distinct features: a turnover at NHI ~ 10^21 cm^-2 which is present at both z=0 and z ~ 3, and a lack of systems above NHI ~ 10^22 cm^-2 at z=0. Using observations of the column density distribution, we argue that the HI-H2 transition does not cause the turnover at NHI ~ 10^21 cm^-2, but can plausibly explain the turnover at NHI > 10^22 cm^-2. We compute the HI column density distribution of individual galaxies in the THINGS sample and show that the turnover column density depends only weakly on metallicity. Furthermore, we show that the column density distribution of galaxies, corrected for inclination, is insensitive to the resolution of the HI map or to averaging in radial shells. Our results indicate that the similarity of HI column density distributions at z=3 and z=0 is due to the similarity of the maximum HI surface densities of high-z and low-z disks, set presumably by universal processes that shape properties of the gaseous disks of galaxies. Using fully cosmological simulations, we explore other candidate physical mechanisms that could produce a turnover in the column density distribution. We show that while turbulence within GMCs cannot affect the DLA column density distribution, stellar feedback can affect it significantly if the feedback is sufficiently effective in removing gas from the central 2-3 kpc of high-redshift galaxies. Finally, we argue that it is meaningful to compare column densities averaged over ~ kpc scales with those estimated from quasar spectra which probe sub-pc scales due to the steep power spectrum of HI column density fluctuations observed in nearby galaxies.

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The size - virial radius relation of galaxies

Sizes of galaxies are an important diagnostic for galaxy formation models. In this study I use the abundance matching ansatz, which has proven to be successful in reproducing galaxy clustering and other statistics, to derive estimates of the virial radius, R200, for galaxies of different morphological types and wide range of stellar mass. I show that over eight of orders of magnitude in stellar mass galaxies of all morphological types follow an approximately linear relation between 3D half-mass radius of their stellar distribution, rhalf and virial radius, rhalf~0.015R200 with a scatter of ~0.2 dex. Such scaling is in remarkable agreement with expectation of models which assume that galaxy sizes are controlled by halo angular momentum, which implies rhalf\propto lambda R200, where lambda is the spin of galaxy parent halo. The scatter about the relation is comparable with the scatter expected from the distribution of $λ$ and normalization of the relation agrees with that predicted by the model of Mo, Mao & White (1998), if galaxy sizes were set on average at z~1-2. Moreover, I show that when stellar and gas surface density profiles of galaxies of different morphological types are rescaled using radius r_n= 0.015 R200, the rescaled surface density profiles follow approximately universal exponential (for late types) and de Vaucouleurs (for early types) profiles with scatter of only 30-50% at R~1-3r_n. Remarkably, both late and early type galaxies have similar mean stellar surface density profiles at R>r_n. The main difference between their stellar distributions is thus at R<r_n. The results of this study imply that galaxy sizes and radial distribution of baryons are shaped primarily by properties of their parent halo and that sizes of both late type disks and early type spheroids are controlled by halo angular momentum.

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A High Throughput Workflow Environment for Cosmological Simulations

The next generation of wide-area sky surveys offer the power to place extremely precise constraints on cosmological parameters and to test the source of cosmic acceleration. These observational programs will employ multiple techniques based on a variety of statistical signatures of galaxies and large-scale structure. These techniques have sources of systematic error that need to be understood at the percent-level in order to fully leverage the power of next-generation catalogs. Simulations of large-scale structure provide the means to characterize these uncertainties. We are using XSEDE resources to produce multiple synthetic sky surveys of galaxies and large-scale structure in support of science analysis for the Dark Energy Survey. In order to scale up our production to the level of fifty 10^10-particle simulations, we are working to embed production control within the Apache Airavata workflow environment. We explain our methods and report how the workflow has reduced production time by 40% compared to manual management.

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Towards a complete accounting of energy and momentum from stellar feedback in galaxy formation simulations

Stellar feedback plays a key role in galaxy formation by regulating star formation, driving interstellar turbulence and generating galactic scale outflows. Although modern simulations of galaxy formation can resolve scales of 10-100 pc, star formation and feedback operate on smaller, "subgrid" scales. Great care should therefore be taken in order to properly account for the effect of feedback on global galaxy evolution. We investigate the momentum and energy budget of feedback during different stages of stellar evolution, and study its impact on the interstellar medium using simulations of local star forming regions and galactic disks at the resolution affordable in modern cosmological zoom-in simulations. In particular, we present a novel subgrid model for the momentum injection due to radiation pressure and stellar winds from massive stars during early, pre-supernova evolutionary stages of young star clusters. Early injection of momentum acts to clear out dense gas in star forming regions, hence limiting star formation. The reduced gas density mitigates radiative losses of thermal feedback energy from subsequent supernova explosions, leading to an increased overall efficiency of stellar feedback. The detailed impact of stellar feedback depends sensitively on the implementation and choice of parameters. Somewhat encouragingly, we find that implementations in which feedback is efficient lead to approximate self-regulation of global star formation efficiency. We compare simulation results using our feedback implementation to other phenomenological feedback methods, where thermal feedback energy is allowed to dissipate over time scales longer than the formal gas cooling time. We find that simulations with maximal momentum injection suppress star formation to a similar degree as is found in simulations adopting adiabatic thermal feedback.

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Semi-empirical catalog of early-type galaxy-halo systems: dark matter density profiles, halo contraction and dark matter annihilation strength

With SDSS galaxy data and halo data from up-to-date N-body simulations we construct a semi-empirical catalog (SEC) of early-type systems by making a self-consistent bivariate statistical match of stellar mass (M_star) and velocity dispersion (sigma) with halo virial mass (M_vir). We then assign stellar mass profile and velocity dispersion profile parameters to each system in the SEC using their observed correlations with M_star and sigma. Simultaneously, we solve for dark matter density profile of each halo using the spherical Jeans equation. The resulting dark matter density profiles deviate in general from the dissipationless profile of NFW or Einasto and their mean inner density slope and concentration vary systematically with M_vir. Statistical tests of the distribution of profiles at fixed M_vir rule out the null hypothesis that it follows the distribution predicted by N-body simulations for M_vir ~< 10^{13.5-14.5} M_solar. These dark matter profiles imply that dark matter density is, on average, enhanced significantly in the inner region of halos with M_vir ~< 10^{13.5-14.5} M_solar supporting halo contraction. The main characteristics of halo contraction are: (1) the mean dark matter density within the effective radius has increased by a factor varying systematically up to ~ 3-4 at M_vir = 10^{12} M_solar, and (2) the inner density slope has a mean of ~ 1.3 with rho(r) ~ r^{-alpha} and a halo-to-halo rms scatter of rms(alpha) ~ 0.4-0.5 for 10^{12} M_solar ~< M_vir ~< 10^{13-14} M_solar steeper than the NFW profile (alpha=1). Based on our results we predict that halos of nearby elliptical and lenticular galaxies can, in principle, be promising targets for gamma-ray emission from dark matter annihilation.

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