Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter Scenario

One possible and natural derivation from the collisionless cold dark matter (CDM) standard cosmological framework is the assumption of the existence of interactions between dark matter (DM) and photons or neutrinos. Such a possible interacting dark matter (IDM) model would imply a suppression of sma...

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Main Authors: Ángeles Moliné, Jascha A. Schewtschenko, Miguel A. Sánchez-Conde, Alejandra Aguirre-Santaella, Sofía A. Cora, Mario G. Abadi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
Series:Galaxies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/7/4/80
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author Ángeles Moliné
Jascha A. Schewtschenko
Miguel A. Sánchez-Conde
Alejandra Aguirre-Santaella
Sofía A. Cora
Mario G. Abadi
author_facet Ángeles Moliné
Jascha A. Schewtschenko
Miguel A. Sánchez-Conde
Alejandra Aguirre-Santaella
Sofía A. Cora
Mario G. Abadi
author_sort Ángeles Moliné
collection DOAJ
description One possible and natural derivation from the collisionless cold dark matter (CDM) standard cosmological framework is the assumption of the existence of interactions between dark matter (DM) and photons or neutrinos. Such a possible interacting dark matter (IDM) model would imply a suppression of small-scale structures due to a large collisional damping effect, even though the weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP) can still be the DM candidate. Because of this, IDM models can help alleviate alleged tensions between standard CDM predictions and observations at small mass scales. In this work, we investigate the properties of the DM halo substructure or subhalos formed in a high-resolution cosmological N-body simulation specifically run within these alternative models. We also run its CDM counterpart, which allowed us to compare subhalo properties in both cosmologies. We show that, in the lower mass range covered by our simulation runs, both subhalo concentrations and abundances are systematically lower in IDM compared to the CDM scenario. Yet, as in CDM, we find that median IDM subhalo concentration values increase towards the innermost regions of their hosts for the same mass subhalos. Similarly to CDM, we find IDM subhalos to be more concentrated than field halos of the same mass. Our work has a direct application to studies aimed at the indirect detection of DM where subhalos are expected to boost the DM signal of their host halos significantly. From our results, we conclude that the role of the halo substructure in DM searches will be less important in interacting scenarios than in CDM, but is nevertheless far from being negligible.
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spelling doaj.art-e37e1d4f98f84952a05f25767e4939942022-12-21T19:27:14ZengMDPI AGGalaxies2075-44342019-09-01748010.3390/galaxies7040080galaxies7040080Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter ScenarioÁngeles Moliné0Jascha A. Schewtschenko1Miguel A. Sánchez-Conde2Alejandra Aguirre-Santaella3Sofía A. Cora4Mario G. Abadi5Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, 28049 Madrid, SpainInstitute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UKInstituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, 28049 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Nicolás Cabrera, 13-15, 28049 Madrid, SpainInstituto de Astrofísica de La Plata (CCT La Plata, CONICET, UNLP), Observatorio Astronómico, Paseo del Bosque, B1900FWA La Plata, ArgentinaObservatorio Astronómico, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Laprida 854, X5000BGR Córdoba, ArgentinaOne possible and natural derivation from the collisionless cold dark matter (CDM) standard cosmological framework is the assumption of the existence of interactions between dark matter (DM) and photons or neutrinos. Such a possible interacting dark matter (IDM) model would imply a suppression of small-scale structures due to a large collisional damping effect, even though the weakly-interacting massive particle (WIMP) can still be the DM candidate. Because of this, IDM models can help alleviate alleged tensions between standard CDM predictions and observations at small mass scales. In this work, we investigate the properties of the DM halo substructure or subhalos formed in a high-resolution cosmological N-body simulation specifically run within these alternative models. We also run its CDM counterpart, which allowed us to compare subhalo properties in both cosmologies. We show that, in the lower mass range covered by our simulation runs, both subhalo concentrations and abundances are systematically lower in IDM compared to the CDM scenario. Yet, as in CDM, we find that median IDM subhalo concentration values increase towards the innermost regions of their hosts for the same mass subhalos. Similarly to CDM, we find IDM subhalos to be more concentrated than field halos of the same mass. Our work has a direct application to studies aimed at the indirect detection of DM where subhalos are expected to boost the DM signal of their host halos significantly. From our results, we conclude that the role of the halo substructure in DM searches will be less important in interacting scenarios than in CDM, but is nevertheless far from being negligible.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/7/4/80dark matter halossubhalosindirect dark matter searchescosmological model
spellingShingle Ángeles Moliné
Jascha A. Schewtschenko
Miguel A. Sánchez-Conde
Alejandra Aguirre-Santaella
Sofía A. Cora
Mario G. Abadi
Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter Scenario
Galaxies
dark matter halos
subhalos
indirect dark matter searches
cosmological model
title Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter Scenario
title_full Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter Scenario
title_fullStr Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter Scenario
title_full_unstemmed Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter Scenario
title_short Properties of Subhalos in the Interacting Dark Matter Scenario
title_sort properties of subhalos in the interacting dark matter scenario
topic dark matter halos
subhalos
indirect dark matter searches
cosmological model
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/7/4/80
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AT alejandraaguirresantaella propertiesofsubhalosintheinteractingdarkmatterscenario
AT sofiaacora propertiesofsubhalosintheinteractingdarkmatterscenario
AT mariogabadi propertiesofsubhalosintheinteractingdarkmatterscenario