Scaling Evolution of Universal Dark-Matter Halo Density Profiles

Abstract

Dark-matter halos show a universal density profile with a scaling such that less massive systems are typically denser. This mass-density relation is well described by a proportionality between the characteristic density of halos and the mean cosmic density at halo formation time. It has recently been shown that this proportionality could be the result of the following simple evolutionary picture. Halos form in major mergers with essentially the same, cosmogony-dependent, dimensionless profile, and then grow inside-outside, as a consequence of accretion. Here we verify the consistency of this picture and show that it predicts the correct zero point of the mass-density relation.

9 pages, 1 Table and 1 postscript figure, latex uses aaspp4.sty, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters

References in corpus (3)

• Resolving the Structure of Cold Dark Matter Halos
• On Formation and Evolution of Disk Galaxies: Cosmological Initial Conditions and the Gravitational Collapse
• Merger vs. Accretion and the Structure of Dark Matter Halos

Cited by in corpus (16)

• Density profiles of dark matter haloes: diversity and dependence on environment
• Are mergers responsible for universal halo properties?
• The Formation Histories of Galaxy Clusters
• On the Origin of the Inner Structure of Halos
• The nature of dark matter and the density profile and central behavior of relaxed halos
• Theoretical dark matter halo density profile
• The Observed Mass Profiles of Dark Halos and The Formation Epochs of Galaxies
• Scale Radii and Aggregation Histories of Dark Haloes
• A Comparison of Simulated and Analytic Major Merger Counts
• Major Mergers of Haloes, Growth of Massive Black Holes and Evolving Luminosity Function of Quasars
• Testing the Modified Press-Schechter Model against N-Body Simulations
• A Model for the Density Distribution of Virialized CDM Halos
• Source Mergers and Bubble Growth During Reionization
• Implications of Halo Inside-out Growth on the X-Ray Properties of Nearby Galaxy Systems within the Preheating Scenario
• The SZ Effect as a Probe of Non-Gravitational Entropy in Groups and Clusters of Galaxies
• Extended Press-Schechter theory and the density profiles of dark matter haloes