A Census of Baryons and Dark Matter in an Isolated, Milky Way-sized Elliptical Galaxy

TL;DR

This study uses deep X-ray observations to analyze the distribution of baryons and dark matter in the isolated elliptical galaxy NGC720, confirming the presence of a massive hot gas halo consistent with cosmological models.

Contribution

First detailed measurement of baryon and dark matter distribution in an isolated, Milky Way-sized elliptical galaxy using X-ray data and hydrostatic equilibrium assumptions.

Findings

Dark matter halo detected at ~20-sigma significance.

Baryon fraction within the virial radius matches cosmological predictions.

Gas entropy profile aligns with gravitational structure formation simulations.

Abstract

We present a study of the dark and luminous matter in the isolated elliptical galaxy NGC720, based on deep X-ray observations made with Chandra and Suzaku. The gas is reliably measured to ~R2500, allowing us to place good constraints on the enclosed mass and baryon fraction (fb) within this radius (M2500=1.6e12+/-0.2e12 Msun, fb(2500)=0.10+/-0.01; systematic errors are <~20%). The data indicate that the hot gas is close to hydrostatic, which is supported by good agreement with a kinematical analysis of the dwarf satellite galaxies. We confirm a dark matter (DM) halo at ~20-sigma. Assuming an NFW DM profile, our physical model for the gas distribution enables us to obtain meaningful constraints at scales larger than R2500, revealing that most of the baryons are in the hot gas. We find that fb within Rvir is consistent with the Cosmological value, confirming theoretical predictions that a ~Milky Way-mass (Mvir=3.1e12+/-0.4e12 Msun) galaxy can sustain a massive, quasi-hydrostatic gas halo. While fb is higher than the cold baryon fraction typically measured in similar-mass spiral galaxies, both the gas fraction (fg) and fb in NGC720 are consistent with an extrapolation of the trends with mass seen in massive galaxy groups and clusters. After correcting for fg, the entropy profile is close to the self-similar prediction of gravitational structure formation simulations, as observed in galaxy clusters. Finally, we find a strong heavy metal abundance gradient in the ISM similar to those observed in massive galaxy groups.