No Arabic abstract
We devise a method to measure the abundance of satellite halos in gravitational lens galaxies, and apply our method to a sample of 7 lens systems. After using Monte Carlo simulations to verify the method, we find that substructure comprises fraction f=0.02 (median, 0.006<f<0.07 at 90% confidence) of the mass of typical lens galaxies, in excellent agreement with predictions of CDM simulations. We estimate a characteristic critical radius for the satellites of 0.0001<b/arcsec<0.006 (90% confidence). For a satellite mass function of dn/dM M^x with x=-1.8 and M_l<M<M_h, the critical radius provides an estimate that the upper mass limit is 10^6Msun < M_h < 10^9Msun. Our measurement confirms a generic prediction of CDM models, and may obviate the need to invoke alternatives to CDM like warm dark matter or self-interacting dark matter.
The properties of multiple image gravitational lenses require a fractional surface mass density in satellites of f=0.02 (0.006 < f < 0.07 at 90% confidence) that is consistent with the expectations for CDM. The characteristic satellite mass scale, 10^6-10^9 Msun, is also consistent with the expectations for CDM. The agreement between the observed and expected density of CDM substructure shows that most low mass galactic satellites fail to form stars, and this absence of star formation explains the discrepancy between the number of observed Galactic satellites and CDM predictions rather than any modification to the CDM theory such as self-interacting dark matter or a warm dark matter component.
We study the effects of substructure in the Galactic halo on direct detection of dark matter, on searches for energetic neutrinos from WIMP annihilation in the Sun and Earth, and on the enhancement in the WIMP annihilation rate in the halo. Our central result is a probability distribution function (PDF) P(rho) for the local dark-matter density. This distribution must be taken into account when using null dark-matter searches to constrain the properties of dark-matter candidates. We take two approaches to calculating the PDF. The first is an analytic model that capitalizes on the scale-invariant nature of the structure--formation hierarchy in order to address early stages in the hierarchy (very small scales; high densities). Our second approach uses simulation-inspired results to describe the PDF that arises from lower-density larger-scale substructures which formed in more recent stages in the merger hierarchy. The distributions are skew positive, and they peak at densities lower than the mean density. The local dark-matter density may be as small as 1/10th the canonical value of ~ 0.4 GeV/cm^3, but it is probably no less than 0.2 GeV/cm^3.
We use a simple statistical test to show that the anomalous flux ratios observed in gravitational lenses are created by gravitational perturbations from substructure rather than propagation effects in the interstellar medium or incomplete models for the gravitational potential of the lens galaxy. We review current estimates that the substructure represents between 0.6% and 7% (90% confidence) of the lens galaxy mass, and outline future observational programs which can improve the results.
We briefly review some recent Cold Dark Matter (CDM) models. Our main focus are charge symmetric models of WIMPs which are not the standard SUSY LSPs (Lightest Supersymmetric Partners). We indicate which experiments are most sensitive to certain aspects of the models. In particular we discuss the manifestations of the new models in neutrino telescopes and other set-ups. We also discuss some direct detection experiments and comment on measuring the direction of recoil ions--which is correlated with the direction of the incoming WIMP. This could yield daily variations providing along with the annual modulation signatures for CDM.
If the dark matter particle is a neutralino then the first structures to form are cuspy cold dark matter (CDM) haloes collapsing after redshifts z ~ 100 in the mass range 10^{-6} - 10^{-3} Msun. We carry out a detailed study of the survival of these micro-haloes in the Galaxy as they experience tidal encounters with stars, molecular clouds, and other dark matter substructures. We test the validity of analytic impulsive heating calculations using high resolution N-body simulations. A major limitation of analytic estimates is that mean energy inputs are compared to mean binding energies, instead of the actual mass lost from the system. This energy criterion leads to an overestimate of the stripped mass and underestimate of the disruption timescale since CDM haloes are strongly bound in their inner parts. We show that a significant fraction of material from CDM micro-haloes can be unbound by encounters with Galactic substructure and stars, however the cuspy central regions remain relatively intact. Furthermore, the micro-haloes near the solar radius are those which collapse significantly earlier than average and will suffer very little mass loss. Thus we expect a fraction of surviving bound micro-haloes, a smooth component with narrow features in phase space, which may be uncovered by direct detection experiments, as well as numerous surviving cuspy cores with proper motions of arc-minutes per year, which can be detected indirectly via their annihilation into gamma-rays.