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Gas dynamics in dwarf galaxies as testbeds for dark matter and galaxy evolution

Nature Astronomy volume 6, pages 35–47 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Dwarf galaxies are ideal laboratories to test dark matter models and alternative theories because their dynamical mass (from observed kinematics) largely outweighs their baryonic mass (from gas and stars). In most star-forming dwarfs, cold atomic gas forms regularly rotating disks extending beyond the stellar component, thus probing the gravitational potential out to the outermost regions. Here I review several aspects of gas dynamics in dwarf galaxies, such as rotation curves, mass models and non-circular motions. Star-forming dwarfs extend the dynamical laws of spiral galaxies to lower masses, surface densities and accelerations. The three main dynamical laws of rotation-supported galaxies point to three distinct acceleration scales, which play different physical roles but display the same value, within uncertainties. The small scatter around these dynamical laws implies a tight coupling between baryons and dark matter in galaxies, which will be better understood with next-generation surveys that will enlarge current sample sizes by orders of magnitude.

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Fig. 1: The cold gas contents of nearby galaxies.
Fig. 2: The star-forming dwarf galaxy DDO 125.
Fig. 3: H i distribution in peculiar types of dwarf galaxy.
Fig. 4: Rotation curves of dwarf and spiral galaxies from the SPARC database.
Fig. 5: Dynamical laws for dwarf and spiral galaxies.

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Acknowledgements

Writing this Review would have not been possible without the many enlightening conversations with many colleagues over the years. In particular, I thank A. Concas, E. Corbelli, F. Fraternali, S. McGaugh, J. Schombert and P. Tozzi for their precious comments on a first draft of this manuscript.

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    Federico Lelli

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Lelli, F. Gas dynamics in dwarf galaxies as testbeds for dark matter and galaxy evolution. Nat Astron 6, 35–47 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01562-2

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