2000The Astrophysical JournalOpen access

The Density Profiles of the Dark Matter Halo Are Not Universal

Yipeng Jing, Yasushi Suto

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Abstract

We perform a series of high-resolution N-body simulations designed to examine the density profiles of dark matter halos. From 12 simulated halos ranging in mass from 2x1012 to 5x1014 h-1 M middle dot in circle (represented by approximately 1 million particles within the virial radius), we find a clear systematic correlation between the halo mass and the slope of the density profile at 1% of the virial radius, in addition to the variations of the slope among halos of similar mass. More specifically, the slope is approximately -1.5, -1.3, and -1.1 for galaxy-, group-, and cluster-mass halos, respectively. While we confirm the earlier simulation results that the inner slope is steeper than the universal profile originally proposed by Navarro, Frenk, & White, this mass dependence is inconsistent with several analytical arguments attempting to link the inner slope with the primordial index of the fluctuation spectrum. Thus, we conclude that the dark matter density profiles, especially in the inner region, are not universal.

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We perform a series of high-resolution N-body simulations designed to examine the density profiles of dark matter halos. From 12 simulated halos ranging in mass from 2x1012 to 5x1014 h-1 M middle dot in circle (represented by approximately 1 million particles within the virial radius), we find a clear systematic correlation between the halo mass and the slope of the density profile at 1% of the virial radius, in addition to the variations of the slope among halos of similar mass. More specifically, the slope is approximately -1.5, -1.3, and -1.1 for galaxy-, group-, and cluster-mass halos, respectively. While we confirm the earlier simulation results that the inner slope is steeper than the universal profile originally proposed by Navarro, Frenk, & White, this mass dependence is inconsistent with several analytical arguments attempting to link the inner slope with the primordial index of the fluctuation spectrum. Thus, we conclude that the dark matter density profiles, especially in the inner region, are not universal.

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Available abstract

We perform a series of high-resolution N-body simulations designed to examine the density profiles of dark matter halos. From 12 simulated halos ranging in mass from 2x1012 to 5x1014 h-1 M middle dot in circle (represented by approximately 1 million particles within the virial radius), we find a clear systematic correlation between the halo mass and the slope of the density profile at 1% of the virial radius, in addition to the variations of the slope among halos of similar mass. More specifically, the slope is approximately -1.5, -1.3, and -1.1 for galaxy-, group-, and cluster-mass halos, respectively. While we confirm the earlier simulation results that the inner slope is steeper than the universal profile originally proposed by Navarro, Frenk, & White, this mass dependence is inconsistent with several analytical arguments attempting to link the inner slope with the primordial index of the fluctuation spectrum. Thus, we conclude that the dark matter density profiles, especially in the inner region, are not universal.

Key concepts: Halo, Cuspy halo problem, Dark matter, Astrophysics, Virial theorem, Physics, Dark matter halo, RADIUS

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