Analyzing Planar Galactic Halo Distributions with Fuzzy/Cold Dark Matter Models

TL;DR

This study compares fuzzy dark matter and cold dark matter models through numerical simulations to analyze satellite galaxy plane formations, revealing fuzzy dark matter's tendency to produce more flattened, corotating satellite systems similar to observations.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed numerical comparison of satellite galaxy plane formation between fuzzy and cold dark matter models using advanced simulation tools.

Findings

Fuzzy dark matter leads to more flattened, corotating satellite systems.

Simulated satellite galaxy planes have a minor-to-major axis ratio matching Milky Way observations.

Fuzzy dark matter's gravitational cooling influences satellite galaxy distribution.

Abstract

We perform a numerical comparison between the fuzzy dark matter model and the cold dark matter model, focusing on formation of satellite galaxy planes around massive galaxies. Such galactic dynamics with controlled initial subhalo configurations are investigated using GADGET2 for the cold dark matter and PyUltraLight for the fuzzy dark matter, respectively. We demonstrate that satellite galaxies in the fuzzy dark matter side have a tendency to form more flattened and corotating satellite systems than in the cold dark matter side mainly due to the dissipation by the gravitational cooling effect of the fuzzy dark matter. Our simulations with the fuzzy dark matter typically show the minor-to-major axis ratio $c/a$ of the satellite galaxy planes to be $0.21 \sim 0.30$; This well matches the current observed value for the Milky Way.