Showing papers by "Justin I. Read published in 2011"

Haloes gone MAD: The Halo-Finder Comparison Project

Abstract: We present a detailed comparison of fundamental dark matter halo properties retrieved by a substantial number of different halo finders. These codes span a wide range of techniques including friends-of-friends, spherical-overdensity and phase-space-based algorithms. We

Haloes gone MAD: The Halo-Finder Comparison Project

Abstract: [abridged] We present a detailed comparison of fundamental dark matter halo properties retrieved by a substantial number of different halo finders. These codes span a wide range of techniques including friends-of-friends (FOF), spherical-overdensity (SO) and phase-space based algorithms. We further introduce a robust (and publicly available) suite of test scenarios that allows halo finder developers to compare the performance of their codes against those presented here. This set includes mock haloes containing various levels and distributions of substructure at a range of resolutions as well as a cosmological simulation of the large-scale structure of the universe. All the halo finding codes tested could successfully recover the spatial location of our mock haloes. They further returned lists of particles (potentially) belonging to the object that led to coinciding values for the maximum of the circular velocity profile and the radius where it is reached. All the finders based in configuration space struggled to recover substructure that was located close to the centre of the host halo and the radial dependence of the mass recovered varies from finder to finder. Those finders based in phase space could resolve central substructure although they found difficulties in accurately recovering its properties. Via a resolution study we found that most of the finders could not reliably recover substructure containing fewer than 30-40 particles. However, also here the phase space finders excelled by resolving substructure down to 10-20 particles. By comparing the halo finders using a high resolution cosmological volume we found that they agree remarkably well on fundamental properties of astrophysical significance (e.g. mass, position, velocity, and peak of the rotation curve).

N-body simulations of gravitational dynamics

Abstract: We describe the astrophysical and numerical basis of N -body simulations, both of collisional stellar systems (dense star clusters and galactic centres) and collisionless stellar dynamics (galaxies and large-scale structure). We explain and discuss the state-of-the-art algorithms used for these quite different regimes, attempt to give a fair critique, and point out possible directions of future improvement and development. We briefly touch upon the history of N -body simulations and their most important results.

Dark matter profiles and annihilation in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: prospectives for present and future gamma-ray observatories - I. The classical dSphs

Abstract: Due to their large dynamical mass-to-light ratios, dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are promising targets for the indirect detection of dark matter (DM) in gamma-rays. We examine their detectability by present and future gamma-ray observatories. The key innovative features of our analysis are: (i) We take into account the angular size of the dSphs; while nearby objects have higher gamma ray flux, their larger angular extent can make them less attractive targets for background-dominated instruments. (ii) We derive DM profiles and the astrophysical J-factor (which parameterises the expected gamma-ray flux, independently of the choice of DM particle model) for the classical dSphs directly from photometric and kinematic data. We assume very little about the DM profile, modelling this as a smooth split-power law distribution, with and without sub-clumps. (iii) We use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique to marginalise over unknown parameters and determine the sensitivity of our derived J-factors to both model and measurement uncertainties. (iv) We use simulated DM profiles to demonstrate that our J-factor determinations recover the correct solution within our quoted uncertainties. Our key findings are: (i) Sub-clumps in the dSphs do not usefully boost the signal; (ii) The sensitivity of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes to dSphs within 20 kpc with cored halos can be up to ~50 times worse than when estimated assuming them to be point-like. Even for the satellite-borne Fermi-LAT the sensitivity is significantly degraded on the relevant angular scales for long exposures, hence it is vital to consider the angular extent of the dSphs when selecting targets; (iii) No DM profile has been ruled out by current data, but using a prior on the inner dark matter cusp slope 0<=gamma<=1 provides J-factor estimates accurate to a factor of a few if an appropriate angular scale [abridged]

Dark matter profiles and annihilation in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: prospectives for present and future γ-ray observatories - I. The classical dwarf spheroidal galaxies

Abstract: Due to their large dynamical mass-to-light ratios, dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are promising targets for the indirect detection of dark matter (DM) in γ-rays. We examine their detectability by present and future γ-ray observatories. The key innovative features of our analysis are as follows: (i) we take into account the angular size of the dSphs; while nearby objects have higher γ-ray flux, their larger angular extent can make them less attractive targets for background-dominated instruments; (ii) we derive DM profiles and the astrophysical J-factor (which parametrizes the expected γ-ray flux, independently of the choice of DM particle model) for the classical dSphs directly from photometric and kinematic data. We assume very little about the DM profile, modelling this as a smooth split-power-law distribution, with and without subclumps; (iii) we use a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique to marginalize over unknown parameters and determine the sensitivity of our derived J-factors to both model and measurement uncertainties; and (iv) we use simulated DM profiles to demonstrate that our J-factor determinations recover the correct solution within our quoted uncertainties. Our key findings are as follows: (i) subclumps in the dSphs do not usefully boost the signal; (ii) the sensitivity of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes to dSphs within ∼20 kpc with cored haloes can be up to ∼50 times worse than when estimated assuming them to be point-like. Even for the satellite-borne Fermi-Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT), the sensitivity is significantly degraded on the relevant angular scales for long exposures; hence, it is vital to consider the angular extent of the dSphs when selecting targets; (iii) no DM profile has been ruled out by current data, but using a prior on the inner DM cusp slope 0 ≤γprior≤ 1 provides J-factor estimates accurate to a factor of a few if an appropriate angular scale is chosen; (iv) the J-factor is best constrained at a critical integration angle αc= 2rh/d (where rh is the half-light radius and d is the distance from the dwarf) and we estimate the corresponding sensitivity of γ-ray observatories; (v) the ‘classical’ dSphs can be grouped into three categories: well constrained and promising (Ursa Minor, Sculptor and Draco), well constrained but less promising (Carina, Fornax and Leo I), and poorly constrained (Sextans and Leo II); and (vi) observations of classical dSphs with the Fermi-LAT integrated over the mission lifetime are more promising than observations with the planned Cherenkov Telescope Array for DM particle mass ≲ 700 GeV. However, even the Fermi-LAT will not have sufficient integrated signal from the classical dwarfs to detect DM in the ‘vanilla’ Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. Both the Galactic Centre and the ‘ultrafaint’ dwarfs are likely to be better targets and will be considered in future work.

Limits on the local dark matter density

Abstract: We revisit systematics in determining the local dark matter density ρdm from the vertical motion of stars in the solar neighbourhood. Using a simulation of a Milky Way like galaxy, we determine the data quality required to detect ρdm at its expected local value. We introduce a new method for recovering ρdm that uses moments of the Jeans equations, combined with a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique, to marginalize over the unknown parameters. Given sufficiently good data, we show that our method can recover the correct local dark matter density even in the face of disc inhomogeneities, non-isothermal tracers and a non-separable distribution function. We illustrate the power of our technique by applying it to Hipparcos data. We first make the assumption that the A- and F-star tracer populations are isothermal. This recovers ρdm= 0.003+0.009− 0.007 M⊙ pc−3 (ρdm= 0.11+0.34− 0.27 GeV cm−3, with 90 per cent confidence), consistent with previous determinations. However, the vertical dispersion profile of these tracers is poorly known. If we assume instead a non-isothermal profile similar to that of the blue disc stars from SDSS DR-7 recently measured, we obtain a fit with a very similar χ2 value, but with ρdm= 0.033+0.008− 0.009 M⊙ pc−3 (ρdm= 1.25+0.30− 0.34 GeV cm−3 with 90 per cent confidence). This highlights that it is vital to measure the vertical dispersion profile of the tracers to recover an unbiased estimate of ρdm.

SPHS: Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics with a higher order dissipation switch

Abstract: We present a novel implementation of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPHS) that uses the spatial derivative of the velocity divergence as a higher order dissipation switch. Our switch -- which is second order accurate -- detects flow convergence before it occurs. If particle trajectories are going to cross, we switch on the usual SPH artificial viscosity, as well as conservative dissipation in all advected fluid quantities (for example, the entropy). The viscosity and dissipation terms (that are numerical errors) are designed to ensure that all fluid quantities remain single-valued as particles approach one another, to respect conservation laws, and to vanish on a given physical scale as the resolution is increased. SPHS alleviates a number of known problems with `classic' SPH, successfully resolving mixing, and recovering numerical convergence with increasing resolution. An additional key advantage is that -- treating the particle mass similarly to the entropy -- we are able to use multimass particles, giving significantly improved control over the refinement strategy. We present a wide range of code tests including the Sod shock tube, Sedov-Taylor blast wave, Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, the `blob test', and some convergence tests. Our method performs well on all tests, giving good agreement with analytic expectations.

Limits on the local dark matter density

Abstract: We revisit systematics in determining the local dark matter density (rho_dm) from the vertical motion of stars in the Solar Neighbourhood. Using a simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy, we determine the data-quality required to detect the dark matter density at its expected local value. We introduce a new method for recovering rho_dm that uses moments of the Jeans equations, combined with a Monte Carlo Markov Chain technique to marginalise over the unknown parameters. Given sufficiently good data, we show that our method can recover the correct local dark matter density even in the face of disc inhomogeneities, non-isothermal tracers and a non-separable distribution function. We illustrate the power of our technique by applying it to Hipparcos data [Holmberg & Flynn 2000,2004]. We first make the assumption that the A and F star tracer populations are isothermal. This recovers rho_dm=0.003^{+0.009}_{-0.007}Msun/pc^3 (with 90 per cent confidence), consistent with previous determinations. However, the vertical dispersion profile of these tracers is poorly known. If we assume instead a non-isothermal profile similar to the blue disc stars from SDSS DR-7 [Abazajian et al. 2009] measured by Bond et al. (2009), we obtain a fit with a very similar chi^2 value, but with rho_dm=0.033^{+0.008}_{-0.009}Msun/pc^3 (with 90 per cent confidence). This highlights that it is vital to measure the vertical dispersion profile of the tracers to recover an unbiased estimate of the local dark matter density.

Limits on the local density of dark matter

Abstract: We study the systematic problems in determining the local dark matter density $\rho_{dm}(R_\odot)$ from kinematics of stars in the Solar Neighbourhood, using a simulated Milky Way-like galaxy. We introduce a new unbiased method for recovering $\rho_{dm}(R_\odot)$ based on the moments of the Jeans equations, combined with a Monte Carlo Markov Chain technique and apply it to real data. ov