Full-text links:

Download:

Current browse context:

astro-ph

Bookmark

(what is this?)
CiteULike logo Connotea logo BibSonomy logo del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo

Astrophysics

Title: Testing the Dark Matter Hypothesis with Low Surface Brightness Galaxies and Other Evidence

Abstract: The severity of the mass discrepancy in spiral galaxies is strongly correlated with the central surface brightness of the disk. Progressively lower surface brightness galaxies have ever larger mass discrepancies. No other parameter (luminosity, size, velocity, morphology) is so well correlated with the magnitude of the mass deficit.
The rotation curves of low surface brightness disks thus provide a unique data set with which to probe the dark matter distribution in galaxies. The mass discrepancy is apparent from $R = 0$ giving a nearly direct map of the halo mass distribution. The luminous mass is insignificant.
Interpreting the data in terms of dark matter leads to troublesome fine-tuning problems. Different observations require contradictory amounts of dark matter. Structure formation theories are as yet far from able to explain the observations.
Comments: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 49 pages AAStex + 16 figures
Subjects: Astrophysics (astro-ph); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
Journal reference: Astrophys.J. 499 (1998) 41
Cite as: arXiv:astro-ph/9801123v1

Submission history

From: Stacy McGaugh [view email]
[v1] Tue, 13 Jan 1998 20:01:43 GMT (176kb)