Frequency of the dark matter subhalo collisions and bifurcation sequence arising formation of dwarf galaxies

TL;DR

This study investigates how collisions between dark matter subhaloes influence galaxy formation, revealing different outcomes such as dark-matter-deficient galaxies or no galaxy formation depending on collision velocity.

Contribution

It provides analytical estimates and simulations of DMSH collisions, explaining the formation of diverse galaxy types and addressing dark-matter-deficient galaxy observations.

Findings

Frequent DMSH collisions within 1/10th virial radius

Low-velocity collisions produce dark-matter-dominated galaxies

Moderate-velocity collisions can create dark-matter-deficient galaxies

Abstract

The cold dark matter (CDM) model predicts galaxies have 100 times more dark matter mass than stars. Nevertheless, recent observations report the existence of dark-matter-deficient galaxies with less dark matter than expected. To solve this problem, we investigate the physical processes of galaxy formation in head-on collisions between gas-containing dark matter subhaloes (DMSHs). Analytical estimation of the collision frequency between DMSHs associated with a massive host halo indicates that collisions frequently occur within 1/10th of the virial radius of the host halo, with a collision timescale of about 10 Myr, and the most frequent relative velocity increases with increasing radius. Using analytical models and numerical simulations, we show the bifurcation channel of the formation of dark-matter-dominated and dark-matter-deficient galaxies. In the case of low-velocity collisions, a dark-matter-dominated galaxy is formed by the merging of two DMSHs. In the case of moderate-velocity collisions, the two DMSHs penetrate each other. However the gas medium collides, and star formation begins as the gas density increases, forming a dwarf galaxy without dark matter at the collision surface. In the case of high-velocity collisions, shock-breakout occurs due to the shock waves generated at the collision surface reaching the gas surface, and no galaxy forms. For example, the simulation demonstrates that a pair of DMSHs with a mass of 10^9 Msun containing gas of 0.1 solar metallicity forms a dark-matter-deficient galaxy with a stellar mass of 10^7 Msun for a relative velocity of 200 km/s.