Scaling Laws for Dark Matter Halos in Late-Type and Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

Abstract

Maximum disk mass models fitted to galaxy rotation curves are used to show that dark matter (DM) halos in late-type and dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies satisfy well defined scaling laws. Halos in less luminous galaxies have smaller core radii, higher central densities, and smaller central velocity dispersions. Implications: (1) A single, continuous physical sequence of increasing mass extends from the tiniest dSphs to the most luminous spirals. (2) The high DM densities in dSph galaxies are normal for such dwarf galaxies. Since virialized density depends on collapse redshift z, the smallest dwarfs formed about delta z = 7 earlier than the biggest spirals. (3) The high DM densities of dSphs implies that they are real galaxies formed from primordial density fluctuations. They are not tidal fragments. (4) Because dwarf galaxies become more numerous and more nearly dominated by DM as luminosity decreases, there may be a large population of objects that are completely dark. Such objects are a canonical prediction of cold DM theory. (5) The slopes of the DM parameter correlations provide a measure on galactic mass scales of the slope n of the power spectrum of primordial density fluctuations. Our results not yet corrected for baryonic compression of DM give n = -1.9 +- 0.2. This is consistent with cold DM theory.