arXiv subjects

N. Wyn Evans

Publications and source records attributed to N. Wyn Evans.

105 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

The Observed properties of Dark Matter on small spatial scales

We present a synthesis of recent photometric and kinematic data for several of the most dark-matter dominated galaxies. There is a bimodal distribution in half-light radii, with stable star clusters always being smaller than $\sim30$pc, while stable galaxies are always larger than $\sim120$pc. We extend the previously known observational relationships and interpret them in terms of a more fundamental pair of intrinsic properties of dark matter itself: dark matter forms cored mass distributions, with a core scale length of greater than about 100pc, and always has a maximum central massdensity with a narrow range. The dark matter in dSph galaxies appears to be clustered such that there is a mean volume mass density within the stellar distribution which has the very low value of about 0.1$\Msun$ pc$^{-3}$ (about 5GeV/c$^2$ cm$^{-3}$). All dSphs have velocity dispersions equivalent to circular velocities at the edge of their light distributions of $\sim 15$km s$^{-1}$. In two dSphs there is evidence that the density profile is shallow (cored) in the inner regions, and so far none of the dSphs display kinematics which require the presence of an inner cusp. The maximum central dark matter density derived is model dependent, but is likely to have a mean value (averaged over a volume of radius 10pc) of $\sim0.1\Msun$ pc$^{-3}$ (about 5GeV/c$^2$ cm$^{-3}$) for our proposed cored dark mass distributions (where it is similar to the mean value), or $\sim60\Msun$ pc$^{-3}$ (about 2TeV/c$^2$ cm$^{-3}$) if the dark matter density distribution is cusped. Galaxies are embedded in dark matter halos with these properties; smaller systems containing dark matter are not observed.

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arXiv2006

Observed Properties of Dark Matter: dynamical studies of dSph galaxies

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 ~5.10^7 M_sun. We are discovering many more dSphs, which we are analysing to test the generality of these results.

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arXiv2006

Comptonisation of Cosmic Microwave Background Photons in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

We present theoretical modelling of the electron distribution produced by annihilating neutralino dark matter in dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). In particular, we follow up the idea of Colafrancesco (2004) and find that such electrons distort the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. For an assumed neutralino mass of 10 GeV and beam size of 1'', the SZ temperature decrement is of the order of nano-Kelvin for dSph models with a soft core. By contrast, it is of the order of micro-Kelvin for the strongly cusped dSph models favoured by some cosmological simulations. Although this is out of reach of current instruments, it may well be detectable by future mm telescopes, such as ALMA. We also show that the upscattered CMB photons have energies within reach of upcoming X-ray observatories, but that the flux of such photons is too small to be detectable soon. Nonetheless, we conclude that searching for the dark matter induced Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect is a promising way of constraining the dark distribution in dSphs, especially if the particles are light.

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arXiv2006

The importance of tides for the Local Group dwarf spheroidals

There are two main tidal effects which can act on the Local Group dwarf spheroidals (dSphs): tidal stripping and tidal shocking. Using N-body simulations, we show that tidal stripping always leads to flat or rising projected velocity dispersions beyond a critical radius; it is $\sim 5$ times more likely, when averaging over all possible projection angles, that the cylindrically averaged projected dispersion will rise, rather than be flat. In contrast, the Local Group dSphs, as a class, show flat or falling projected velocity dispersions interior to $\sim 1$ kpc. This argues for tidal stripping being unimportant interior to $\sim 1$ kpc for most of the Local Group dSphs observed so far. These results have important implications for the formation of the dSphs and for cosmology. A tidal origin for the formation of these Local Group dSphs (in which they contain no dark matter) is strongly disfavoured. In the cosmological context, a naive solution to the missing satellites problem is to allow only the most massive substructure dark matter halos around the Milky Way to form stars. It is possible for dSphs to reside within these halos ($\sim 10^{10}$M$_\odot$) and have their velocity dispersions lowered through the action of tidal shocks, but only if they have a central density core in their dark matter, rather than a cusp. dSphs can reside within cuspy dark matter halos if their halos are less massive ($\sim 10^{9}$M$_\odot$) and therefore have smaller central velocity dispersions initially (abridged).

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arXiv2005

The Capture of Centaurs as Trojans

Large scale simulations of Centaurs have yielded vast amounts of data, the analysis of which allows interesting but uncommon scenarios to be studied. One such rare phenomenon is the temporary capture of Centaurs as Trojans of the giant planets. Such captures are generally short (10 kyr to 100 kyr), but occur with sufficient frequency (about 40 objects larger than 1 km in diameter every Myr) that they may well contribute to the present-day populations. Uranus and Neptune seem to have great difficulty capturing Centaurs into the 1:1 resonance, while Jupiter captures some, and Saturn the most (80 %). We conjecture that such temporary capture from the Centaur population may be the dominant delivery route into the Saturnian Trojans. Photometric studies of the Jovian Trojans may reveal outliers with Centaur-like as opposed to asteroidal characteristics, and these would be prime candidates for captured Centaurs.

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arXiv2005

Simple Models for the Distribution of Dark Matter

We introduce a simple family of models for representing the dark matter in galaxies. The potential and phase space distribution function are all elementary, while the density is cusped. The models are all hypervirial, that is, the virial theorem holds locally, as well as globally. As an application to dark matter studies, we compute some of the properties of gamma-ray sources caused by neutralino self-annihilation in dark matter clumps.

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arXiv2005

The mass of dwarf spheroidal galaxies and the missing satellite problem

We present the results from a suite of N-body simulations of the tidal stripping of two-component dwarf galaxies comprising some stars and dark matter. We show that recent kinematic data from the local group dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies suggests that dSph galaxies must be sufficiently massive ($10^9 - 10^{10}$M$_\odot$) that tidal stripping is of little importance for the stars. We discuss the implications of these massive dSph galaxies for cosmology and galaxy formation.

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arXiv2004

Possible Evidence for MeV Dark Matter In Dwarf Spheroidals

It has been recently proposed that the observed 511 keV emission from the Galactic bulge could be the product of very light (1-100 MeV) annihilating dark matter particles. Other possible explanations for this signal are associated with stellar objects, such as hypernovae. In order to distinguish between annihilating light dark matter scenario and more conventional astrophysical sources for the bulge emission, we here propose the study of dwarf spheroidals such as Sagittarius. These galaxies have typical luminosities of $10^5 L_\odot$ but mass-to-light ratios of $\sim 100$. As there are comparatively few stars, the prospects for 511 keV emission from standard astrophysical scenarios are minimal. The dwarf spheroidals do, however, contain copious amounts of dark matter. INTEGRAL/SPI has observed the Sagittarius region. Analysis of this data for 511 keV emission will provide a test of MeV dark matter which can distinguish between annihilating dark matter and more standard astrophysics. The observation of such a signal from Sagittarius should be a ``smoking gun'' for MeV dark matter.

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arXiv2003

A Dynamical Fossil in the Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

The nearby Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal (UMi dSph) is one of the most dark matter dominated galaxies known, with a central mass to light ratio roughly equal to 70. Somewhat anomalously, it appears to contain morphological substructure in the form of a second peak in the stellar number density. It is often argued that this substructure must be transient because it could not survive for the > 10 Gyr age of the system, given the crossing time implied by UMi's 8.8 km/s internal velocity dispersion. In this paper, however, we present evidence that the substructure has a cold kinematical signature, and argue that UMi's clumpiness could indeed be a primordial artefact. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate that substructure is incompatible with the cusped dark matter haloes predicted by the prevailing Cold Dark Matter (CDM) paradigm, but is consistent with an unbound stellar cluster sloshing back and forth within the nearly harmonic potential of a cored dark matter halo. Thus CDM appears to disagree with observation at the least massive, most dark matter dominated end of the galaxy mass spectrum.

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arXiv2003

The clustering of ultra-high energy cosmic rays and their sources

The sky distribution of cosmic rays with energies above the 'GZK cutoff' holds important clues to their origin. The AGASA data, although consistent with isotropy, shows evidence for small-angle clustering, and it has been argued that such clusters are aligned with BL Lacertae objects, implicating these as sources. It has also been suggested that clusters can arise if the cosmic rays come from the decays of very massive relic particles in the Galactic halo, due to the expected clumping of cold dark matter. We examine these claims and show that both are in fact not justified.

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arXiv2003

Lightcurve Classification in Massive Variability Surveys

This paper pioneers the use of neural networks to provide a fast and automatic way to classify lightcurves in massive photometric datasets. As an example, we provide a working neural network that can distinguish microlensing lightcurves from other forms of variability, such as eruptive, pulsating, cataclysmic and eclipsing variable stars. The network has five input neurons, a hidden layer of five neurons and one output neuron. The five input variables for the network are extracted by spectral analysis from the lightcurve datapoints and are optimised for the identification of a single, symmetric, microlensing bump. The output of the network is the posterior probability of microlensing. The committee of neural networks successfully passes tests on noisy data taken by the MACHO collaboration. When used to process 5000 lightcurves on a typical tile towards the bulge, the network cleanly identifies the single microlensing event. When fed with a sub-sample of 36 lightcurves identified by the MACHO collaboration as microlensing, the network corroborates this verdict in the case of 27 events, but classifies the remaining 9 events as other forms of variability. For some of these discrepant events, it looks as though there are secondary bumps or the bump is noisy or not properly contained. Neural networks naturally allow for the possibility of novelty detection -- that is, new or unexpected phenomena which we may want to follow up. The advantages of neural networks for microlensing rate calculations, as well as the future developments of massive variability surveys, are both briefly discussed.

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arXiv2001

First Clear Signature of an Extended Dark Matter Halo in the Draco Dwarf Spheroidal

We present the first clear evidence for an extended dark matter halo in the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy based on a sample of new radial velocities for 159 giant stars out to large projected radii. Using a two parameter family of halo models spanning a range of density profiles and velocity anisotropies, we are able to rule out (at about the 2.5 sigma confidence level) haloes in which mass follows light. The data strongly favor models in which the dark matter is significantly more extended than the visible dwarf. However, haloes with harmonic cores larger than the light distribution are also excluded. When combined with existing measurements of the proper motion of Draco, our data strongly suggest that Draco has not been tidally truncated within ~1 kpc. We also show that the rising velocity dispersion at large radii represents a serious problem for modified gravity (MOND).

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arXiv1999

A Dynamical Model of the Inner Galaxy

An extension of Schwarzschild's galaxy-building technique is presented that, for the first time, enables one to build Schwarzschild models with known distribution functions (DFs). The new extension makes it possible to combine a DF that depends only on classical integrals with orbits that respect non-classical integrals. With such a combination, Schwarzschild's orbits are used only to represent the difference between the true galaxy DF and an approximating classical DF. The new method is used to construct a dynamical model of the inner Galaxy. The model is based on an orbit library that contains 22168 regular orbits. The model aims to reproduce the three-dimensional mass density of Binney, Gerhard & Spergel (1997), which was obtained through deprojection of the COBE surface photometry, and to reproduce the observed kinematics in three windows - namely Baade's Window and two off-axis fields. The model fits essentially all the available data within the innermost 3 kpc. The axis ratio and the morphology of the projected density contours of the COBE bar are recovered to good accuracy within corotation. The kinematic quantities - the line-of-sight streaming velocity and velocity dispersion, as well as the proper motions when available - are recovered, not merely for the fitted fields, but also for three new fields. The dynamical model deviates most from the input density close to the Galactic plane just outside corotation, where the deprojection of the surface photometry is suspect. The dynamical model does not reproduce the kinematics at the most distant window, where disk contamination may be severe.

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arXiv1999

Cartography for Martian Trojans

The last few months have seen the discovery of a second Martian Trojan (1998 VF31), as well as two further possible candidates (1998 QH56 and 1998 SD4). Together with the previously discovered Martian satellite 5261 Eureka, these are the only known possible solar system Trojan asteroids not associated with Jupiter. Here, maps of the locations of the stable Trojan trajectories of Mars are presented. These are constructed by integrating an ensemble of in-plane and inclined orbits in the vicinity of the Martian Lagrange points for between 25 million and 60 million years. The survivors occupy a band of inclinations between 15 degrees and 40 degrees and longitudes between 240 degrees and 330 degrees at the L5 Lagrange point. Around the L4 point, stable Trojans inhabit two bands of inclinations (15 degrees < i < 30 degrees and 32 degrees < i < 40 degrees) with longitudes restricted between 25 degrees and 120 degrees. Both 5261 Eureka and 1998 VF31 lie deep within one of the stable zones, which suggests they may be of primordial origin. Around Mars, the number of such undiscovered primordial objects with sizes greater than 1 km may be as high as 50. The two candidates 1998 QH56 and 1998 SD4 are not presently on Trojan orbits and will enter the sphere of influence of Mars within half a million years.

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arXiv1998

Star Counts and the Warped and Flaring Milky Way Disk

This paper reports the star count predictions of warped and flaring models of the outer Milky Way disk. These have been suggested as possible locations of the lenses responsible for the microlensing events towards the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Three such models are investigated in detail and the theoretical predictions are confronted with {\it Hubble Space Telescope} (HST) star count data in 7 low latitude fields ($30^\circ < | b| < 40^\circ$). If the warped and flaring disk population has the same characteristics as disk stars in the solar neighbourhood, then the models can be unambiguously ruled out. Metallicity gradients are well-known in disk galaxies and may cause the outer disk population to differ in colors and luminosity from that locally. This effect is studied using a simple ansatz for the variation in the color-magnitude relation with position and while it is shown to lead to better agreement with the star counts, upper limits on the contribution of the warped and flaring disk to the optical depth are still below the value measured towards the LMC. Only if the warp is very asymmetric or if the luminosity function changes strongly with Galactocentric radius can the models be made consistent with the starcounts.

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