The Shape of Cold Dark Matter Haloes
Title: The Structure of Cold Dark Matter Halos Also referenced: Small-Scale Challenges to the Lambda-CDM Paradigm Authors: Julio F. Navarro, Carlos S. Frenk, Simon D. White First Author’s Current Institution: University of Victoria Status: Published in ApJ Since the late 1970s, when Vera Rubin et al. confirmed the existence of dark matter via galaxy rotation curves, astronomers have known that dark matter, or matter which does not emit electromagnetic radiation, makes up a significant portion of the mass in a galaxy. This means that the dark matter component of a galaxy is a major contributor to the physics behind the galaxy’s star formation history, chemical enrichment. More generally, this suggests that the distribution of dark matter also plays a role in processes of galaxy formation and interaction. Thus, it’s paramount that we investigate the shape, or matter distribution, of dark matter halos in order to understand the gravitational conditions ...
