Luminous and Dark Matter Profiles from Galaxies to Clusters: Bridging the Gap with Group-scale Lenses

TL;DR

This study investigates the distribution of dark matter and baryons across galaxy to cluster scales using gravitational lensing and stellar kinematics, revealing mass-dependent variations in dark matter profiles and their relation to galaxy properties.

Contribution

It provides new group-scale lens observations and combines them with existing data to analyze dark matter profiles across a wide mass range, highlighting non-universality.

Findings

Group-scale lenses are consistent with NFW profiles.

Dark matter profile slopes depend on halo mass and stellar surface density.

Baryonic effects on dark matter distribution vary with halo mass.

Abstract

Observations of strong gravitational lensing, stellar kinematics, and larger-scale tracers enable accurate measures of the distribution of dark matter (DM) and baryons in massive early-type galaxies (ETGs). While such techniques have been applied to galaxy-scale and cluster-scale lenses, the paucity of intermediate-mass systems with high-quality data has precluded a uniform analysis of mass-dependent trends. With the aim of bridging this gap, we present new observations and analyses of 10 group-scale lenses at <z>=0.36 characterized by Einstein radii theta_Ein=2.5"-5.1" and a mean halo mass of M_200=10^14.0 Msol. We measure a mean concentration c_200=5.0+-0.8 consistent with unmodified cold dark matter halos. By combining our data with other lens samples, we analyze the mass structure of ETGs in 10^13 Msol-10^15 Msol halos using homogeneous techniques. We show that the slope of the total density profile gamma_tot within the effective radius depends on the stellar surface density, as demonstrated previously, but also on the halo mass. We analyze these trends using halo occupation models and resolved stellar kinematics with the goal of testing the universality of the DM profile. Whereas the central galaxies of clusters require a shallow inner DM density profile, group-scale lenses are consistent with a Navarro-Frenk-White profile or one that is slightly contracted. The largest uncertainties arise from the sample size and likely radial gradients in stellar populations. We conclude that the net effect of baryons on the DM distribution may not be universal, but more likely varies with halo mass due to underlying trends in star formation efficiency and assembly history.