Phase-space structure in the local dark matter distribution and its signature in direct detection experiments

By M. Vogelsberger, A. Helmi, Volker Springel, Simon D. M. White, Jie-Shuang Wang, Carlos S. Frenk, Adrian Jenkins, A. Ludlow, J. F. N. Mpa, Groningen and 3 more. 2008

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We study predictions for dark matter phase-space structure near the Sun based on highresolution simulations of six galaxy halos taken from the Aquarius Project. The local DM density distribution is predicted to be remarkably smooth; the density at the Sun differs from the mean over a best-fit ellipsoidal equidensity contour by less than 15% at the 99.9% confidence level. The local velocity distribution is also very smooth, but it differs systematically from a (multivariate) Gaussian distribution. This is not due to th e presence of individual clumps or streams, but to broad features in the velocity modulus and energy distributions that are stable both in space and time and reflect the detailed assembly histo ry of each halo. These features have a significant impact on the signals predicted for WIMP an d axion searches. For example, WIMP recoil rates can deviate by � 10% from those expected from the best-fit multivariate Gaussian models. The axion spectra in our simulations typically peak at lower frequencies than in the case of multivariate Gaussian velocity distribu tions. Also in this case, the spectra show significant imprints of the formation of the halo. Th is implies that once direct DM detection has become routine, features in the detector sign al will allow us to study the dark matter assembly history of the Milky Way. A new field, “dark ma tter astronomy”, will then emerge.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation, Nuclear and High Energy Physics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6fec27faaeee0ec559d88d7809c888121532fed6

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Citations in the corpus

Revealing the dark matter halo with axion direct detection (2017, background): “While it is unlikely that a DM substructure from in-falling subhalos dominates the local DM density [87,98], as we show in this subsection, even if the substructure only makes up a small fraction of the local DM density, due to the coherence in velocity space, the signature of substructure at axion ”
Colloquium: Annual modulation of dark matter (2013, background): “Based on the Aquarius Project, Vogelsberger et al. (2009) reported that the dark matter density at the Sun’s location differs by less than 15% from the average at more than 99.9% confidence and estimates a probability of 10 4 for the Sun being located in a bound subhalo of any mass.”
A model for cosmological simulations of galaxy formation physics: multi-epoch validation (2013, background): “…models is also a necessity for predicting the backreaction of baryons on the dark matter distribution, an effect that is particularly important for observational searches of dark matter and for concluding whether the ΛCDM model is viable on small scales (Vogelsberger et al. 2009; Ling et al. 2010).”
Subhaloes going Notts: the subhalo‐finder comparison project (2012, result): “…separat structures within larger haloes is an important quantity for bothstudies of dark-matter detection (Springel et al. 2008; Kuhlen et al. 2008; Vogelsberger et al. 2009; Zavala et al. 2010) and the apparent ov rabundance of substructure within numerical models when compared to observations…”
The diversity and similarity of simulated cold dark matter haloes (2008, background): “These distinct features are present on small scales (substructure) and large scales (such as streams, asphericity, and other relics of each halo’s specific assembly history; see, e.g., Vogelsberger et al., 2009).”
Dark matter direct-detection experiments (2015, background): “matter [152][153][154][155] and showed triaxial velocity distributions [151].”
Cosmological simulations with self-interacting dark matter – II. Halo shapes versus observations (2012, unknown): “E-mail: annika.peter@uci.edu † E-mail: rocham@uci.edu ‡ E-mail: bullock@uci.edu § E-mail: mkapling@uci.edu quantitative level (Dubinski & Carlberg 1991; Diemand et al. 2008; Vogelsberger et al. 2009; Stadel et al. 2009; Navarro et al. 2010).”
Dark matter response to galaxy formation (2009, background): “They found the innermost cusps in these haloes to be weaker than claimed in some earlier work, and showed how halo-to-halo variations in radial structure reflect the detailed formation histories of individual haloes (see also Vogelsberger et al. 2009).”
Galactic Searches for Dark Matter (2012, background): “In position space, the highest resolution simulations of Milky Way mass halos have up to 105 particles in a 23 kpc3 box (Vogelsberger et al., 2009; Kuhlen et al., 2010), which implies a mean inter-particle separation of ∼ 50 parsecs.”
Dark matter direct detection with non-Maxwellian velocity structure (2009, methodology): “In contrast to Vogelsberger et al. (2008), we find that both global and local departures from the best-fit Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution can significantly affect the total event rate, the annual modulation, and the recoil energy spectrum.”
Tracing the dark matter sheet in phase space (2011, methodology): “The global distribution has been measured from simulations many times (see e.g. Hoeft et al. 2004; Wise & Abel 2007; Navarro et al. 2010; Vogelsberger et al. 2009) but, to the best of our knowledge, this was never done at individual points in the simulations.”
The local dark matter density (2014, methodology): “Caustics (regions of extremely high density caused by foliations of the dark matter phase sheet) appear to be similarly unimportant (Vogelsberger et al., 2009b).”
Moving mesh cosmology: numerical techniques and global statistics (2011, background): “…purely collisionless simulations, e.g. the nearly universal density profiles of DM haloes (Navarro, Frenk & White 1996, 1997; Navarro et al. 2010), assembly bias (Gao, Springel & White 2005) and the internal structure of haloes on small scales (Vogelsberger et al. 2009; Vogelsberger & White 2011).”