Effect of dark matter halos on the orbital and escape dynamics of barred galaxies

TL;DR

This paper investigates how different dark matter halo profiles influence star escape and orbital chaos in barred galaxies, revealing that oblate halos better explain spiral structures in various galaxy types.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed 3D gravitational model analyzing dark halo effects on star dynamics, comparing oblate and NFW profiles, and linking halo parameters to galaxy morphology.

Findings

Oblate halos favor spiral arm formation in giant galaxies.

NFW halos require strong feedback for spiral pattern emergence.

Dark halo shape influences galaxy structure and star escape mechanisms.

Abstract

This study examines the effect of dark matter halos on the orbital and escape dynamics of stars in the central region of barred galaxies. A three-dimensional gravitational model with a central bulge, bar, disc, and dark matter halo (or simply dark halo) has been set up and analyzed from the viewpoint of escape in open Hamiltonian systems for this purpose. Additionally, this model has been examined separately for the dark halo profiles: oblate and NFW. In both circumstances, an escape mechanism has been identified near the saddle points of the phase space, which correspond to the bar ends. The escaping motion of stars is seen using orbital maps and Poincar\'e surface section maps generated in various phase planes. Finally, the relationship between chaos and dark halo parameters such as mass, size, circular velocity, and nature has been studied. Our findings suggest that oblate dark halos are preferred over NFW dark halos for justifying the formation of full-fledged spiral arms and extended distribution of dark halos in giant spiral galaxies with supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at their centers. Again, the oblate dark halos well justify the emergence of less prominent or poor spiral arms and the core-dominated distribution of dark halos in dwarf and LSB galaxies in the absence of central SMBHs. On the other hand, extreme central baryonic feedback is required for the NFW halos to generate spiral patterns, and such dark halos should be preferred for galaxies with extremely energetic centers.