General circular velocity relation of a test particle in a 3D gravitational potential: application to the rotation curves analysis and total mass determination of UGC 8490 and UGC 9753

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new general circular velocity relation for 3D gravitational potentials and applies it to analyze galaxy rotation curves, estimating dark matter distributions and masses in UGC 8490 and UGC 9753.

Contribution

A novel circular velocity formula for 3D potentials applicable to various coordinate systems, used for galaxy rotation curve analysis and dark matter mass estimation.

Findings

Cored dark matter profiles (Burkert, Einasto) are favored over cuspy profiles.

Spherical/oblate models better fit the galaxies' dark matter curves.

Dark matter halos are better described by cored profiles and oblate shapes.

Abstract

In this paper we derive a novel circular velocity relation for a test particle in a 3D gravitational potential applicable to every system of curvilinear coordinates, suitable to be reduced to orthogonal form. As an illustration of the potentiality of the determined circular velocity expression we perform the rotation curves analysis of UGC 8490 and UGC 9753 and we estimate the total and dark matter mass of these two galaxies under the assumption that their respective dark matter halos have spherical, prolate and oblate spheroidal mass distributions. We employ stellar population synthesis models and the total HI density map to obtain the stellar and HI+He+metals rotation curves of both galaxies. The subtraction of the stellar plus gas rotation curves from the observed rotation curves of UGC 8490 and UGC 9753 generates the dark matter circular velocity curves of both galaxies. We fit the dark matter rotation curves of UGC 8490 and UGC 9753 through the newly established circular velocity formula specialised to the spherical, prolate and oblate spheroidal mass distributions, considering the Navarro, Frenk and White, Burkert, Di Cintio, Einasto and Stadel dark matter halos. Our principal findings are the following: globally, cored dark matter profiles Burkert and Einasto prevail over cuspy Navarro, Frenk and White and Di Cintio. Also, spherical/oblate dark matter models fit better the dark matter rotation curves of both galaxies than prolate dark matter halos.