I. Henum | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

From Gaia to GaiaNIR: I. Probing dark matter halos in globular clusters

The proposed GaiaNIR mission would extend Gaia's astrometric capabilities into the near-infrared, improving astrometric precision and enabling observations in heavily dust-obscured regions. In this work, we investigate the impact of GaiaNIR on the detectability of dark matter halos in globular clusters by comparing its performance with that of Gaia. Expected observations from future Gaia data releases and GaiaNIR are modeled for a globular cluster with properties similar to M4. The cluster is simulated with a range of dark matter halo sizes and varying levels of extinction, allowing a direct assessment of each mission's ability to detect and distinguish dark matter halos across different extinction conditions. To support this comparison, the relationship between the Gaia G band and several near-infrared bands is examined. We find that Gaia can resolve extended dark matter halos in low-extinction conditions, but its performance degrades significantly as extinction increases. In contrast, GaiaNIR reduces statistical uncertainties and retains sensitivity to extended halos even with strong extinction. These results indicate that GaiaNIR would both strengthen constraints on kinematic signatures accessible to Gaia and enable the study of clusters in heavily obscured regions that are currently beyond Gaia's reach.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

From Gaia to GaiaNIR: II. A new view of the Milky Way bar

The Milky Way (MW) hosts a central bar whose pattern speed, orientation, and length remain uncertain, largely due to observational biases and selection effects, despite the transformative data provided by the Gaia mission. We aim to reassess the MW bar properties using Gaia DR3, explicitly accounting for incompleteness and astrometric uncertainties, and to quantify the expected improvements from future Gaia DR4, DR5, and GaiaNIR data. We combine Gaia DR3 RGB samples with line-of-sight velocities and realistic Gaia and GaiaNIR mock catalogues to characterise observational biases. We then apply standard techniques to infer the bar pattern speed and structural properties, and evaluate their performance for upcoming data releases. Using Gaia DR3 RGB mock catalogues, we find that the bar pattern speed exhibits a systematic offset of $+14.4 \pm 2.3$ km$~$s$^{-1}~$kpc$^{-1}$. Applying this approach to the data yields $\Omega_p = 43.7 \pm 0.1$ km$~$s$^{-1}~$kpc$^{-1}$, which we interpret as a conservative upper limit. Correcting for this bias gives $\Omega_p = 29.3 \pm 2.3$ km$~$s$^{-1}~$kpc$^{-1}$, although this estimate should be treated with caution given the limited number of mock realizations. We also detect bisymmetric perturbations in $v_\phi$ and $\langle |v_R / v_{\rm tot}| \rangle$, with phase angles $\phi_b = 19$-$24^\circ$ in the bar region. Future Gaia data releases, together with GaiaNIR, are expected to reduce systematic offsets in the pattern speed to $\sim +5$ km$~$s$^{-1}~$kpc$^{-1}$. In addition, GaiaNIR will further improve proper motion precision to below $0.001$ mas$~$yr$^{-1}$ for bright sources and extend the spatial coverage. Our results indicate that current measurements of the MW bar pattern speed are significantly affected by systematics, but that forthcoming Gaia and GaiaNIR data will substantially improve both accuracy and robustness.

astro-ph.GA↗