Conveners
Session 5: Dark matter and structure in the Universe
- Laura Sales (UC Riverside)
Strong gravitational lensing provides a means of measuring the halo mass function into regimes below which baryons are reliable tracers of structure. In this low mass regime (M_vir<10^9 M_sun), the microscopic characteristics of dark matter affect the abundance of dark matter halos.Strong gravitational lensing has been limited by the small number of systems which can be used to detect dark...
Our ever-increasing observational knowledge of satellite galaxy systems now allows us to identify structures in the phase-space distribution of satellites belonging to a common host, by studying their distribution and motion. This can potentially reveal connections in the formation and evolution history of different satellite galaxies, but can also be used to test cosmological models. One...
I will discuss the possibility that the black-hole binary detected by LIGO may be a signature of primordial black hole dark matter. If two BHs in a galactic halo pass sufficiently close, they radiate enough energy in gravitational waves to become gravitationally bound. Curiously, the expected merger rate from these objects overlaps with that predicted by LIGO. Although a PBH dark matter...
Dwarf galaxies are among the best laboratories for exploring the nature of dark matter: their high dark matter content, coupled with the large number of dwarfs in close proximity to us, enable a variety of tests that are not possible with other astrophysical systems. I will discuss our efforts to understand unique signatures of both standard cold dark matter and various alternatives (including...
The first phase of stellar evolution in the history of the Universe may be Dark Stars (DS), powered by dark matter heating rather than by nuclear fusion. Weakly Interacting Massive Particles which are their own antipartners can collect inside the first stars and annihilate to produce a heat source that powers the stars. A new stellar phase results, a Dark Star, which lasts as long as there is...
