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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,261 records · Page 70
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

ON THE ROBUSTNESS OF z = 0-1 GALAXY SIZE MEASUREMENTS THROUGH MODEL AND NON-PARAMETRIC FITS

We present the size-stellar mass relations of nearby (z = 0.01-0.02) Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies, for samples selected by color, morphology, Sérsic index n, and specific star formation rate. Several commonly employed size measurement techniques are used, including single Sérsic fits, two-component Sérsic models, and a non-parametric method. Through simple simulations, we show that the non-parametric and two-component Sérsic methods provide the most robust effective radius measurements, while those based on single Sérsic profiles are often overestimates, especially for massive red/early-type galaxies. Using our robust sizes, we show for all sub-samples that the mass-size relations are shallow at low stellar masses and steepen above ∼3-4 × 10{sup 10} M{sub ☉}. The mass-size relations for galaxies classified as late-type, low-n, and star-forming are consistent with each other, while blue galaxies follow a somewhat steeper relation. The mass-size relations of early-type, high-n, red, and quiescent galaxies all agree with each other but are somewhat steeper at the high-mass end than previous results. To test potential systematics at high redshift, we artificially redshifted our sample (including surface brightness dimming and degraded resolution) to z = 1 and re-fit the galaxies using single Sérsic profiles. The sizes of these galaxies before and after redshifting are consistent and we conclude that systematic effects in sizes and the size-mass relation at z ∼ 1 are negligible. Interestingly, since the poorer physical resolution at high redshift washes out bright galaxy substructures, single Sérsic fitting appears to provide more reliable and unbiased effective radius measurements at high z than for nearby, well-resolved galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

PREDICTING MERGER-INDUCED GAS MOTIONS IN ΛCDM GALAXY CLUSTERS

In the hierarchical structure formation model, clusters of galaxies form through a sequence of mergers and continuous mass accretion, which generate significant random gas motions especially in their outskirts where material is actively accreting. Non-thermal pressure provided by the internal gas motions affects the thermodynamic structure of the X-ray emitting intracluster plasma and introduces biases in the physical interpretation of X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect observations. However, we know very little about the nature of gas motions in galaxy clusters. The ASTRO-H X-ray mission, scheduled to launch in 2015, will have a calorimeter capable of measuring gas motions in galaxy clusters at the level of ∼< 100 km s{sup –1}. In this work, we predict the level of merger-induced gas motions expected in the ΛCDM model using hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy cluster formation. We show that the gas velocity dispersion is larger in more massive clusters, but exhibits a large scatter. We show that systems with large gas motions are morphologically disturbed, while early forming, relaxed groups show a smaller level of gas motions. By analyzing mock ASTRO-H observations of simulated clusters, we show that such observations can accurately measure the gas velocity dispersion out to the outskirts of nearby relaxed galaxy clusters. ASTRO-H analysis of merging clusters, on the other hand, requires multi-component spectral fitting and enables unique studies of substructures in galaxy clusters by measuring both the peculiar velocities and the velocity dispersion of gas within individual sub-clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

The Plateau de Bure + 30 m arcsecond whirlpool survey reveals a thick disk of diffuse molecular gas in the M51 galaxy

We present the data of the Plateau de Bure Arcsecond Whirlpool Survey, a high spatial and spectral resolution {sup 12}CO (1-0) line survey of the inner ∼10 × 6 kpc of the M51 system, and the first wide-field imaging of molecular gas in a star-forming spiral galaxy with resolution matched to the typical size of giant molecular clouds (40 pc). We describe the observation, reduction, and combination of the Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) and IRAM-30 m 'short spacing' data. The final data cube attains 1.''1 resolution over the ∼270'' × 170'' field of view, with sensitivity to all spatial scales from the combination of PdBI and IRAM-30 m data, and a brightness sensitivity of 0.4 K (1σ) in each 5 km s{sup –1}-wide channel map. We find a CO luminosity of 9 × 10{sup 8} K km s{sup –1} pc{sup 2}, corresponding to a molecular gas mass of 4 × 10{sup 9} M {sub ☉} for a standard CO-to-H{sub 2} conversion factor. Unexpectedly, we find that a large fraction of this emission, (50 ± 10)%, arises mostly from spatial scales larger than 36'' ≅ 1.3 kpc. Through a series of tests, we demonstrate that this extended emission does not result from a processing artifact. We discuss its origin in light of the stellar component, the {sup 12}CO/{sup 13}CO ratio, and the difference between the kinematics and structure of the PdBI-only and hybrid synthesis (PdBI + IRAM-30 m) images. The extended emission is consistent with a thick, diffuse disk of molecular gas with a typical scale height of ∼200 pc, substructured in unresolved filaments that fill ∼0.1% of the volume.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A plasma β transition within a propagating flux rope

We present a 2.5 dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a magnetic flux rope (FR) propagating in the heliosphere and investigate the cause of the observed sharp plasma β transition. Specifically, we consider a strong internal magnetic field and an explosive fast start, such that the plasma β is significantly lower in the FR than in the sheath region that is formed ahead. This leads to an unusual FR morphology in the first stage of propagation, while the more traditional view (e.g., from space weather simulations like Enlil) of a pancake-shaped FR is observed as it approaches 1 AU. We investigate how an equipartition line, defined by a magnetic Weber number, surrounding a core region of a propagating FR, can demarcate a boundary layer where there is a sharp transition in the plasma β. The substructure affects the distribution of toroidal flux, with the majority of the flux remaining in a small core region that maintains a quasi-cylindrical structure. We quantitatively investigate a locus of points where the kinetic energy density of the relative inflow field is equal to the energy density of the transverse magnetic field (i.e., effective tension force). The simulation provides compelling evidence that at all heliocentric distances the distribution of toroidal magnetic flux away from the FR axis is not linear, with 80% of the toroidal flux occurring within 40% of the distance from the FR axis. Thus, our simulation displays evidence that the competing ideas of a pancaking structure observed remotely can coexist with a quasi-cylindrical magnetic structure seen in situ.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

GHOSTS I: A new faint very isolated dwarf galaxy at D = 12 ± 2 Mpc

We report the discovery of a new faint dwarf galaxy, GHOSTS I, using HST/ACS data from one of our GHOSTS (Galaxy Halos, Outer disks, Substructure, Thick disk, and Star clusters) fields. Its detected individual stars populate an approximately 1 mag range of its luminosity function (LF). Using synthetic color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) to compare with the galaxy's CMD, we find that the colors and magnitudes of GHOSTS I's individual stars are most consistent with being young helium-burning and asymptotic giant branch stars at a distance of ∼12 ± 2 Mpc. Morphologically, GHOSTS I appears to be actively forming stars, so we tentatively classify it as a dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxy, although future Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations deep enough to resolve a larger magnitude range in its LF are required to make a more secure classification. GHOSTS I's absolute magnitude is M{sub V}∼−9.85{sub −0.33}{sup +0.40}, making it one of the least luminous dIrr galaxies known, and its metallicity is lower than [Fe/H] = –1.5 dex. The half-light radius of GHOSTS I is 226 ± 38 pc and its ellipticity is 0.47 ± 0.07, similar to Milky Way and M31 dwarf satellites at comparable luminosity. There are no luminous massive galaxies or galaxy clusters within ∼4 Mpc from GHOSTS I that could be considered as its host, making it a very isolated dwarf galaxy in the local universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Structures in the protoplanetary disk of HD142527 seen in polarized scattered light

We present H- and K {sub s}-band polarized differential images of the Herbig Ae/Be star HD142527, revealing its optically thick outer disk and the nearly empty gap. The very small inner working angle (∼0.''1) and high-resolution achievable with an 8 m class telescope, together with a careful polarimetric calibration strategy, allow us to achieve images that surpass the quality of previous scattered-light images. Previously known substructures are resolved more clearly and new structures are seen. Specifically, we are able to resolve (1) half a dozen spiral structures in the disk, including previously known outer-disk spirals as well as new spiral arms and arcs close to the inner rim of the disk, (2) peculiar holes in the polarized surface brightness at position angles (P.A.'s) of ∼0° and ∼160°, (3) the inner rim on the eastern side of the disk, and (4) the gap between the outer and inner disk, ranging from the inner working angle of 0.''1 out to between 0.''7 and 1.''0, which is nearly devoid of dust. We then use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to determine several structural parameters of the disk, using very simple assumptions, including its inclination, eccentricity, and the scale height of the inner rim. We compare our results with previous work on this object and try to produce a consistent picture of the system and its transition disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Hunting a wandering supermassive black hole in the M31 halo hermitage

In the hierarchical structure formation scenario, galaxies enlarge through multiple merging events with less massive galaxies. In addition, the Magorrian relation indicates that almost all galaxies are occupied by a central supermassive black hole (SMBH) of mass 10{sup –3} times the mass of its spheroidal component. Consequently, SMBHs are expected to wander in the halos of their host galaxies following a galaxy collision, although evidence of this activity is currently lacking. We investigate a current plausible location of an SMBH wandering in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). According to theoretical studies of N-body simulations, some of the many substructures in the M31 halo are remnants of a minor merger occurring about 1 Gyr ago. First, to evaluate the possible parameter space of the infalling orbit of the progenitor, we perform numerous parameter studies using a graphics processing unit cluster. To reduce uncertainties in the predicted position of the expected SMBH, we then calculate the time evolution of the SMBH in the progenitor dwarf galaxy from N-body simulations using the plausible parameter sets. Our results show that the SMBH lies within the halo (∼20-50 kpc from the M31 center), closer to the Milky Way than the M31 disk. Furthermore, the predicted current positions of the SMBH were restricted to an observational field of 0.°6 × 0.°7 in the northeast region of the M31 halo. We also discuss the origin of the infalling orbit of the satellite galaxy and its relationships with the recently discovered vast thin disk plane of satellite galaxies around M31.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Evidence for particle re-acceleration in the radio relic in the galaxy cluster PLCKG287.0+32.9

Radio relics are diffuse radio sources observed in galaxy clusters, probably produced by shock acceleration during cluster-cluster mergers. Their large size, of the order of 1 Mpc, indicates that the emitting electrons need to be (re)accelerated locally. The usually invoked diffusive shock acceleration models have been challenged by recent observations and theory. We report the discovery of complex radio emission in the Galaxy cluster PLCKG287.0+32.9, which hosts two relics, a radio halo, and several radio filamentary emission. Optical observations suggest that the cluster is elongated, likely along an intergalactic filament, and displays a significant amount of substructure. The peculiar features of this radio relic are that (1) it appears to be connected to the lobes of a radio galaxy and (2) the radio spectrum steepens on either side of the radio relic. We discuss the origins of these features in the context of particle re-acceleration.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Does SEGUE/SDSS indicate a dual galactic halo?

We re-examine recent claims of observational evidence for a dual Galactic halo in SEGUE/SDSS data, and trace them back to improper error treatment and neglect of selection effects. In particular, the detection of a vertical abundance gradient in the halo can be explained as a metallicity bias in distance. A similar bias and the impact of disk contamination affect the sample of blue horizontal branch stars. These examples highlight why non-volume complete samples require forward modeling from theoretical models or extensive bias-corrections. We also show how observational uncertainties produce the specific non-Gaussianity in the observed azimuthal velocity distribution of halo stars, which can be erroneously identified as two Gaussian components. A single kinematic component yields an excellent fit to the observed data, when we model the measurement process including distance uncertainties. Furthermore, we show that sample differences in proper motion space are the direct consequence of kinematic cuts and are enhanced when distance estimates are less accurate. Thus, their presence is neither proof of a separate population nor a measure of reliability for the applied distances. We conclude that currently there is no evidence from SEGUE/SDSS that would favor a dual Galactic halo over a single halo that is full of substructure.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Wide-field Hubble space telescope observations of the globular cluster system in NGC 1399

We present a comprehensive high spatial resolution imaging study of globular clusters (GCs) in NGC 1399, the central giant elliptical cD galaxy in the Fornax galaxy cluster, conducted with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Using a novel technique to construct drizzled point-spread function libraries for HST/ACS data, we accurately determine the fidelity of GC structural parameter measurements from detailed artificial star cluster experiments and show the superior robustness of the GC half-light radius, r{sub h} , compared with other GC structural parameters, such as King core and tidal radius. The measurement of r{sub h} for the major fraction of the NGC 1399 GC system reveals a trend of increasing r{sub h} versus galactocentric distance, R {sub gal}, out to about 10 kpc and a flat relation beyond. This trend is very similar for blue and red GCs, which are found to have a mean size ratio of r {sub h,} {sub red}/r {sub h,} {sub blue} = 0.82 ± 0.11 at all galactocentric radii from the core regions of the galaxy out to ∼40 kpc. This suggests that the size difference between blue and red GCs is due to internal mechanisms related to the evolution of their constituent stellar populations. Modeling the mass density profile of NGC 1399 shows that additional external dynamical mechanisms are required to limit the GC size in the galaxy halo regions to r{sub h} ≈ 2 pc. We suggest that this may be realized by an exotic GC orbit distribution function, an extended dark matter halo, and/or tidal stress induced by the increased stochasticity in the dwarf halo substructure at larger galactocentric distances. We compare our results with the GC r{sub h} distribution functions in various galaxies and find that the fraction of extended GCs with r{sub h} ≥ 5 pc is systematically larger in late-type galaxies compared with GC systems in early-type galaxies. This is likely due to the dynamically more violent evolution of early-type galaxies. We match our GC r{sub h} measurements with radial velocity data from the literature and split the resulting sample at the median r{sub h} value into compact and extended GCs. We find that compact GCs show a significantly smaller line-of-sight velocity dispersion, (σ{sub cmp}) = 225 ± 25 km s{sup –1}, than their extended counterparts, (σ{sub ext}) = 317 ± 21 km s{sup –1}. Considering the weaker statistical correlation in the GC r{sub h} color and the GC r{sub h} -R {sub gal} relations, the more significant GC size-dynamics relation appears to be astrophysically more relevant and hints at the dominant influence of the GC orbit distribution function on the evolution of GC structural parameters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

How robust are the size measurements of high-redshift compact galaxies?

Massive quiescent galaxies at z ≈ 2 are apparently much more compact than galaxies of comparable mass today. How robust are these size measurements? We perform comprehensive simulations to determine possible biases and uncertainties in fitting single-component light distributions to real galaxies. In particular, we examine the robustness of the measurements of the luminosity, size, and other structural parameters. We devise simulations with increasing realism to systematically disentangle effects due to the technique (specifically using GALFIT) and the intrinsic structures of the galaxies. By accurately capturing the detailed substructures of nearby elliptical galaxies and then rescaling their sizes and signal-to-noise to mimic galaxies at different redshifts, we confirm that the massive quiescent galaxies at z ≈ 2 are significantly more compact intrinsically than their local counterparts. Their observed compactness is not a result of missing faint outer light due to systematic errors in modeling. In fact, we find that fitting multi-component galaxies with a single Sérsic profile, the procedure most commonly adopted in the literature, biases the inferred sizes higher by up to 10%-20%, which accentuates the amount of size evolution required. If the sky estimation has been done robustly and the model for the point-spread function is fairly accurate, GALFIT can retrieve the properties of single-component galaxies over a wide range of signal-to-noise ratios without introducing any systematic errors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Milky Way red dwarfs in the BoRG survey; galactic scale-height and the distribution of dwarf stars in WFC3 imaging

We present a tally of Milky Way late-type dwarf stars in 68 Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) pure-parallel fields (227 arcmin{sup 2}) from the Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies survey for high-redshift galaxies. Using spectroscopically identified M-dwarfs in two public surveys, the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey and the Early Release Science mosaics, we identify a morphological selection criterion using the half-light radius (r {sub 50}), a near-infrared J – H, G – J color region where M-dwarfs are found, and a V – J relation with M-dwarf subtype. We apply this morphological selection of stellar objects, color-color selection of M-dwarfs, and optical-near-infrared color subtyping to compile a catalog of 274 M-dwarfs belonging to the disk of the Milky Way with a limiting magnitude of m {sub F125W} < 24(AB). Based on the M-dwarf statistics, we conclude that (1) the previously identified north-south discrepancy in M-dwarf numbers persists in our sample; there are more M-dwarfs in the northern fields on average than in southern ones, (2) the Milky Way's single disk scale-height for M-dwarfs is 0.3-4 kpc, depending on subtype, (3) the scale-height depends on M-dwarf subtype with early types (M0-4) high scale-height (z {sub 0} = 3-4 kpc) and later types M5 and above in the thin disk (z {sub 0} = 0.3-0.5 kpc), (4) a second component is visible in the vertical distribution, with a different, much higher scale-height in the southern fields compared to the northern ones. We report the M-dwarf component of the Sagittarius stream in one of our fields with 11 confirmed M-dwarfs, seven of which are at the stream's distance. In addition to the M-dwarf catalog, we report the discovery of 1 T-dwarfs and 30 L-dwarfs from their near-infrared colors. The dwarf scale-height and the relative low incidence in our fields of L- and T-dwarfs in these fields makes it unlikely that these stars will be interlopers in great numbers in color-selected samples of high-redshift galaxies. The relative ubiquity of M-dwarfs however will make them ideal tracers of Galactic halo substructure with EUCLID and reference stars for James Webb Space Telescope observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A three-dimensional view of the thermal structure in a super-penumbral canopy

We investigate the three-dimensional (3D) thermal topology in a super-penumbral canopy of an active region (AR). We derive temperature stratifications in the AR by an inversion of the Ca II IR line at 854.2 nm, assuming local thermal equilibrium. We find that about half of the radially oriented fibrils in the super-penumbral canopy form short, low-lying (h < 1 Mm) loops in the 3D temperature cube. These closed loops connect from bright grains in or close to the penumbra to the photosphere a few Mms away from the sunspot. The other half of the fibrils monotonically rise with distance from the sunspot. Many of the fibrils show a central dark core and two lateral brightenings in line-core intensity images. The corresponding velocity image shows fibrils that are as wide as the fibrils seen in intensity without a lateral substructure. Additionally, we study a feature from a different class of structures without prominent mass flows. Its 3D topology is formed by two parallel, closed loops that connect patches of opposite polarity. We present evidence that the inverse Evershed flow into the sunspot in the lower chromosphere is the consequence of siphon flows along short loops that connect photospheric foot points. The dark-cored structure of the chromospheric fibrils cannot have a convective origin because of their location above regular granulation. The dark core most likely results from an opacity difference between the central axis and the lateral edges caused by the significant flow speed along the fibrils.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Sub-photospheric, radiation-mediated shocks in gamma-ray bursts: Multiple shock emission and the band spectrum

We compute the time-integrated, thermal emission produced by a series of radiation-mediated shocks that emerge from the photosphere of a gamma-ray burst outflow. We show that for a sufficiently broad distribution of shock strengths, the overall shape of the time-integrated spectral energy distribution below the peak is a power law, νE{sub ν}∝ν{sup α}, with a slope of 1 < α < 2. A substructure in the spectral energy distribution (SED) can also be produced in this model for certain choices of the shock train distribution. In particular, we demonstrate that our model can reproduce the double-peak SED observed in some bursts, in events where a strong shock is followed by a sequence of sufficiently weaker ones.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The K giant stars from the LAMOST survey data. I. Identification, metallicity, and distance

We present a support vector machine classifier to identify the K giant stars from the LAMOST survey directly using their spectral line features. The completeness of the identification is about 75% for tests based on LAMOST stellar parameters. The contamination in the identified K giant sample is lower than 2.5%. Applying the classification method to about two million LAMOST spectra observed during the pilot survey and the first year survey, we select 298,036 K giant candidates. The metallicities of the sample are also estimated with an uncertainty of 0.13 ∼ 0.29 dex based on the equivalent widths of Mg{sub b} and iron lines. A Bayesian method is then developed to estimate the posterior probability of the distance for the K giant stars, based on the estimated metallicity and 2MASS photometry. The synthetic isochrone-based distance estimates have been calibrated using 7 globular clusters with a wide range of metallicities. The uncertainty of the estimated distance modulus at K = 11 mag, which is the median brightness of the K giant sample, is about 0.6 mag, corresponding to ∼30% in distance. As a scientific verification case, the trailing arm of the Sagittarius stream is clearly identified with the selected K giant sample. Moreover, at about 80 kpc from the Sun, we use our K giant stars to confirm a detection of stream members near the apo-center of the trailing tail. These rediscoveries of the features of the Sagittarius stream illustrate the potential of the LAMOST survey for detecting substructures in the halo of the Milky Way.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Bringing simulation and observation together to better understand the intergalactic medium

The methods by which one characterizes the distribution of matter in cosmological simulations is intrinsically different from how one performs the same task observationally. In this paper, we make substantial steps toward comparing simulations and observations of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in a more sensible way. We present a pipeline that generates and fits synthetic QSO absorption spectra using sight lines cast through a cosmological simulation, and simultaneously identifies structure by directly analyzing the variations in H I and O VI number density. We compare synthetic absorption spectra with a less observationally motivated, but more straightforward density threshold-based method for finding absorbers. Our efforts focus on H I and O VI to better characterize the warm/hot IGM, a subset of the IGM that is challenging to conclusively identify observationally. We find that the two methods trace roughly the same quantities of H I and O VI above observable column density limits, but the synthetic spectra typically identify more substructure in absorbers. We use both methods to characterize H I and O VI absorber properties. We find that both integrated and differential column density distributions from both methods generally agree with observations. The distribution of Doppler parameters between the two methods are similar for Lyα and compare reasonably with observational results, but while the two methods agree with each other with O VI systems, they both are systematically different from observations. We find a strong correlation between O VI baryon fraction and O VI column density. We also discuss a possible bimodality in the temperature distribution of the gas traced by O VI.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Temperature structure of the intracluster medium from smoothed-particle hydrodynamics and adaptive-mesh refinement simulations

Analyses of cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy clusters suggest that X-ray masses can be underestimated by 10%-30%. The largest bias originates from both violation of hydrostatic equilibrium (HE) and an additional temperature bias caused by inhomogeneities in the X-ray-emitting intracluster medium (ICM). To elucidate this large dispersion among theoretical predictions, we evaluate the degree of temperature structures in cluster sets simulated either with smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) or adaptive-mesh refinement (AMR) codes. We find that the SPH simulations produce larger temperature variations connected to the persistence of both substructures and their stripped cold gas. This difference is more evident in nonradiative simulations, whereas it is reduced in the presence of radiative cooling. We also find that the temperature variation in radiative cluster simulations is generally in agreement with that observed in the central regions of clusters. Around R {sub 500} the temperature inhomogeneities of the SPH simulations can generate twice the typical HE mass bias of the AMR sample. We emphasize that a detailed understanding of the physical processes responsible for the complex thermal structure in ICM requires improved resolution and high-sensitivity observations in order to extend the analysis to higher temperature systems and larger cluster-centric radii.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Nonlinear evolution of dark matter subhalos and applications to warm dark matter

We describe the methodology to include nonlinear evolution, including tidal effects, in the computation of subhalo distribution properties in both cold (CDM) and warm (WDM) dark matter universes. Using semi-analytic modeling, we include effects from dynamical friction, tidal stripping, and tidal heating, allowing us to dynamically evolve the subhalo distribution. We calibrate our nonlinear evolution scheme to the CDM subhalo mass function in the Aquarius N-body simulation, producing a subhalo mass function within the range of simulations. We find tidal effects to be the dominant mechanism of nonlinear evolution in the subhalo population. Finally, we compute the subhalo mass function for m {sub χ} = 1.5 keV WDM including the effects of nonlinear evolution, and compare radial number densities and mass density profiles of subhalos in CDM and WDM models. We show that all three signatures differ between the two dark matter models, suggesting that probes of substructure may be able to differentiate between them.

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