Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-20-2005
Abstract
The initial radial density profiles of dark matter halos are laid down by gravitational collapse in hierarchical structure formation scenarios and are subject to further compression as baryons cool and settle to the halo centers. Here we describe an explicit implementation of the algorithm, originally developed by Young, to calculate changes to the density profile as the result of adiabatic infall in a spherical halo model. Halos with random motion are more resistant to compression than are those in which random motions are neglected, which is a key weakness of the simple method widely employed. Young's algorithm results in density profiles in excellent agreement with those from N-body simulations. We show how the algorithm can be applied to determine the original uncompressed halos of real galaxies, a step that must be computed with care in order to enable a confrontation with theoretical predictions from theories such as λCDM. © 2005. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Keywords
dark matter, galaxies: formation, galaxies: halos, galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
Language
English
Publication Title
Astrophysical Journal
Rights
© The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. This content is free to access, download, and share. For all other uses, you must obtain permission to reuse content: https://journals.aas.org/article-charges-and-copyright/#AAS_material
Recommended Citation
J. A. Sellwood and Stacy S. McGaugh 2005. The Compression of Dark Matter Halos by Baryonic Infall. ApJ 634 70
Manuscript Version
Final Publisher Version