Galactic Halo Cusp versus Core: Tidal Effects in Mergers

Avishai Dekel, Jonathan Devor, Itai Arad

We show how the buildup of halos by merging satellites forces an inner cusp, with a density profile ρ\propto r^{-α} where α\to α_a \gsim 1$. Our analysis is based on a new prescrip…