The Effect of a Single Supernova Explosion on the Cuspy Density Profile of a Small-Mass Dark Matter Halo

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical model demonstrating how a single supernova explosion can transform a small dark matter halo's density profile from cuspy to cored, aligning theoretical predictions with astronomical observations.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel analytical approach using particle distribution functions to show how minimal energy changes from a supernova can alter halo density profiles.

Findings

A supernova can induce a core in the halo with as little as 0.5% energy change.

Single supernova explosions can significantly modify dark matter density profiles.

Transformation from cusp to core occurs even with small matter removal.

Abstract

Some observations of galaxies, and in particular dwarf galaxies, indicate a presence of cored density profiles in apparent contradiction with cusp profiles predicted by dark matter N-body simulations. We constructed an analytical model, using particle distribution functions (DFs), to show how a supernova (SN) explosion can transform a cusp density profile in a small-mass dark matter halo into a cored one. Considering the fact that a SN efficiently removes matter from the centre of the first haloes, we study the effect of mass removal through a SN perturbation in the DFs. We found that the transformation from a cusp into a cored profile is present even for changes as small as 0.5% of the total energy of the halo, that can be produced by the expulsion of matter caused by a single SN explosion.