The dark matter halos of spheroidal galaxies and clusters of galaxies

Abstract

We describe the first results from two observational projects aimed at measuring the amount and spatial distribution of dark matter in distant early-type galaxies (E/S0s) and clusters of galaxies. At the galaxy scale, the Lenses Structure and Dynamics (LSD) Survey is gathering kinematic data for distant (up to $z\sim1$) E/S0s that are gravitational lenses. A joint lensing and dynamical analysis constrains the fraction of dark matter within the Einstein radius, the mass-to-light ratio of the stellar component, and the total slope of the mass density profile. These properties and their evolution with redshift are briefly discussed in terms of the formation and evolution of E/S0 galaxies and measurement of the Hubble Constant from gravitational time delay systems. At the cluster scale -- after careful removal of the stellar component with a joint lensing and dynamical analysis -- systems with giant radial arcs can be used to measure precisely the inner slope of the dark matter halo. An HST search for radial arcs and the analysis of a first sample are briefly discussed in terms of the universal dark matter halos predicted by CDM simulations.