Measuring the Mass of Missing Baryons in the Halo of Andromeda Galaxy with Gamma-Ray Observations

TL;DR

This study uses gamma-ray observations to estimate the baryon mass in the Andromeda Galaxy's halo, suggesting it accounts for less than 30% of the missing baryons, with implications for understanding galaxy formation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel gamma-ray based method to measure the total baryon content in galaxy halos, independent of gas temperature or metallicity.

Findings

Baryon mass in Andromeda's halo is less than (1.4-5)×10^10 solar masses.

The halo's baryons may not account for more than 30% of missing baryons.

Results are limited by gamma-ray data uncertainties and cosmic-ray diffusion models.

Abstract

One of the biggest mysteries in the modern cosmology and galaxy formation is the hideout of the "missing baryons". The leading theory of galaxy formation predicts that a huge amount of baryons resides around galaxies extending out to their virial radii in the form of diffuse and hot gas of $10^6-10^7\,$K, which is also known as the major component of the circumgalactic medium (CGM). Studies by various groups via different techniques, however, have not reached a consensus on the role of CGM in accounting for the missing baryons, with the estimated contribution ranging from a minor fraction to enclosing the baryon budget of the galaxy. In this work we attempt to measure the mass of missing baryons in CGM with a novel method based on the gamma-ray observations of the extended halo of the Andromeda Galaxy. Since cosmic-ray particles that are generated inside the galaxy will eventually escape to the CGM, they will produce gamma-ray emission via the proton-proton collision with CGM. Different from some traditional measurements which are sensitive only to gas in certain specific temperature range, the hadronic gamma-ray flux is sensitive to baryonic gases in all phases and does not rely on the metallicity in the halo. Our result suggests that the total baryon mass contained within the virial radius is less than $(1.4-5)\times 10^{10}M_\odot$ according to the gamma-ray intensity obtained with a model-dependent analysis. It implies that the CGM of Andromeda Galaxy may not account for more than $30\%$ of the missing baryons, but the result is subject to uncertainties from the gamma-ray intensity upper limit, diffusion coefficient of the CRs in the halo as well as the stellar mass and dark matter halo mass of the galaxy. This method will become more constraining provided better understandings on these issues and more sensitive gamma-ray telescopes in the future.