DETECTING TRIAXIALITY IN THE GALACTIC DARK MATTER HALO THROUGH STELLAR KINEMATICS. II. DEPENDENCE ON NATURE DARK MATTER AND GRAVITY

Journal Article · Wed May 20 04:00:00 EDT 2015 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/805/1/29· OSTI ID:22522414

Rojas-Niño, Armando; Pichardo, Barbara; Valenzuela, Octavio ^[1]

---

1. Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 70-264, 04510, México, D.F., Universitaria, D.F., México (Mexico)

Recent studies have presented evidence that the Milky Way global potential may be non-spherical. In this case, the assembling process of the Galaxy may have left long-lasting stellar halo kinematic fossils due to the shape of the dark matter halo, potentially originated by orbital resonances. We further investigate such a possibility, now considering potential models further away from ΛCDM halos, like scalar field dark matter halos and Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), and including several other factors that may mimic the emergence and permanence of kinematic groups, such as a spherical and triaxial halo with an embedded disk potential. We find that regardless of the density profile (DM nature), kinematic groups only appear in the presence of a triaxial halo potential. For the case of a MOND-like gravity theory no kinematic structure is present. We conclude that the detection of these kinematic stellar groups could confirm the predicted triaxiality of dark halos in cosmological galaxy formation scenarios.

• OSTI ID: 22522414
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 805; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT
COSMOLOGY
DENSITY
DETECTION
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GRAVITATION
MILKY WAY
NONLUMINOUS MATTER
POTENTIALS
SCALAR FIELDS
SPHERICAL CONFIGURATION