MUSE-DARK-I: Dark matter halo properties of intermediate-z star-forming galaxies

TL;DR

This study investigates the dark matter halo properties of intermediate-redshift star-forming galaxies using advanced 3D modelling, revealing prevalent cored profiles and potential evolution in halo density over cosmic time.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 3D forward modelling approach for individual galaxy rotation curves and compares multiple DM density profiles, highlighting the effectiveness of the DC14 profile.

Findings

89% of galaxies have DM fractions >50%

66% of SFGs have cored DM profiles with gamma < 0.5

Evidence suggests DM halos are denser at intermediate redshifts

Abstract

[Abridged] We analyse the dark matter (DM) halo properties of 127 0.3<z<1.5 star-forming galaxies (SFGs) down to low stellar masses (8<log(Mstar/Msun)<11), using data from the MUSE Hubble Ultra Deep Field Survey and photometry from HST and JWST. We employ a 3D forward modelling approach to analyse the morpho-kinematics of our sample, enabling measurement of individual rotation curves out to 2-3 times the effective radius. We perform a disk-halo decomposition with a 3D parametric model that includes stellar, gas, and DM components, with pressure support corrections. We validate our methodology on mock data cubes generated from idealised disk simulations. We select the best-fitting DM model among six density profiles, including the Navarro-Frenk-White and the generalised alpha-beta-gamma profile of Di Cintio et al. (2014, DC14). Our Bayesian analysis shows that DC14 performs as well as or better than the other profiles in >80% of the sample. We find that the kinematically inferred stellar masses agree with values from SED fitting. We find that 89% of galaxies have DM fractions >50%. For 66% of SFGs, we infer a DM inner slope, gamma < 0.5, indicating cored DM profiles, but no correlation is found between gamma and star formation rate of the sample. The stellar- and concentration-mass relations agree with theoretical expectations, but with larger scatter. We confirm the anticorrelation between halo scale radius and DM density. The halo scale radii and DM surface densities increase with Mstar, while DM densities stay constant. We find tentative evidence of an evolution of the DM density with z, which suggests that the DM halos of intermediate-z systems are denser than those of local galaxies. In contrast, the halo scale radii are z-invariant.