Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-21-2011
Abstract
The current cosmological paradigm, the cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant, requires that the mass-energy of the Universe be dominated by invisible components: dark matter and dark energy. An alternative to these dark components is that the law of gravity be modified on the relevant scales. A test of these ideas is provided by the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation (BTFR), an empirical relation between the observed mass of a galaxy and its rotation velocity. Here, I report a test using gas rich galaxies for which both axes of the BTFR can be measured independently of the theories being tested and without the systematic uncertainty in stellar mass that affects the same test with star dominated spirals. The data fall precisely where predicted a priori by the modified Newtonian dynamics. The scatter in the BTFR is attributable entirely to observational uncertainty, consistent with a single effective force law. © 2011 American Physical Society.
Publication Title
Physical Review Letters
Grant
908370
Rights
© American Physical Society. Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Recommended Citation
McGaugh, Stacy S. Novel Test of Modified Newtonian Dynamics with Gas Rich Galaxies. Phys. Rev. Lett., volume106, issue12, 2011, doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.121303
Manuscript Version
Final Publisher Version
Comments
Erratum: Equation (1) of the Letter, ��0������ =��4��, only strictly applies in the limit of infinite distance from a point mass. Since flattened systems rotate faster than the equivalent spherical mass distribution, a factor of order unity is required to relate the acceleration measured in finite disk galaxies with �� =��4��/������ to ��0 as defined in MOND. The Letter omitted mention of this factor, which is empirically calibrated to be 0.8 such that ��0 =0.8��. The measured �� =1.55 ×10−10 ms−2 was properly corrected to the reported ��0 =1.24 ×10−10 ms−2. Neither the results nor the conclusions of the Letter are affected by this omission. (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.229901)