Galactic Rotation Curves from Full-Disk Newtonian Modeling: The Lost and Found Framework

TL;DR

The paper introduces the Lost and Found framework, a Newtonian model that uses full-disk gravitational integration to better interpret galactic rotation curves, reducing inferred mass discrepancies.

Contribution

It presents a geometrically consistent full-disk modeling approach that improves mass estimates from galaxy rotation curves compared to traditional spherical assumptions.

Findings

LF model reproduces key features of observed rotation curves.

LF-inferred masses are systematically lower than standard estimates.

Mass scales nearly linearly with traditional dynamical mass, with a factor of about 0.67.

Abstract

The approximately flat outer parts of spiral galaxy rotation curves are commonly interpreted as evidence for a discrepancy between the observed baryonic mass and the dynamical mass inferred from the measured orbital velocities. In many analyses, simplified mass estimates are often expressed through the Keplerian relation $v^2(R)=GM(<R)/R$, which is exact only under spherical symmetry. Spiral galaxies, however, are flattened disk systems, for which mass exterior to the galactocentric radius under consideration can contribute non-negligibly to the gravitational field. Previous thin-disk studies have shown that the gravitational field in disk galaxies can be computed from the full mass distribution rather than from enclosed-mass approximations alone. Building on this approach, we introduce the \textit{Lost and Found} (LF) framework, a geometrically consistent Newtonian model based on direct full-disk gravitational integration and a parametrized representation of the disk surface density. We apply the LF model to a heterogeneous sample of disk galaxies spanning a broad range of masses and radial extents. The model reproduces the main observed features of the rotation curves, including the inner rise and the approximately flat outer behavior, while yielding systematically lower inferred masses compared to standard Keplerian estimates. Across the sample, the LF-inferred mass scales nearly linearly with the conventional dynamical mass, with a characteristic scaling factor $\eta_{\rm LF}\sim0.67$. These results suggest that part of the inferred mass discrepancy in disk galaxies may be associated with geometric assumptions in standard mass estimates, and highlight the importance of full-disk treatments when interpreting galactic rotation curves.