Cosmological elves: small scale tests of the cold dark matter paradigm

宇宙精灵：冷暗物质范式的小规模测试

• 批准号: 203263-2009
• 负责人: Navarro, Julio
• 金额: $ 5.39万
• 依托单位: University of Victoria
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=514096
• 关键词: Cosmological; elves; small; scale; tests

The completion of photometric and redshift surveys of large portions of the sky have revolutionized our understanding of faint galaxies, extending the category of dwarf galaxies to luminosities so faint that they blur the traditional distinction between galaxies and star clusters. At the same time, advances in computational cosmology have led to improved predictions of the properties of the smallest dark matter halos able to harbour luminous galaxies in the current paradigm of structure formation, the LCDM model. The confrontation of data with model predictions on these small objects holds the promise to validate or challenge the established paradigm on scales beyond those used to constrain its main parameters. The time is ripe for a concerted effort designed to assess the cosmological significance of Nature's smallest extragalactic objects. I propose to study this topic using a variety of observational and theoretical tools, from detailed N-body simulation of the formation of dark matter halos, to gasdynamical simulation of the formation of luminous dwarf galaxies, to direct observational efforts designed to survey the faintest galaxies in our Local Universe and to understand their impact on the formation of our Milky Way galaxy.

对天空大部分区域进行光度测量和红移测量的完成彻底改变了我们对微弱星系的理解，将矮星系的范畴扩展到了光度如此微弱的领域，以至于模糊了星系和星团之间的传统区别。与此同时，计算宇宙学的进步改进了对当前结构形成范式（LCDM 模型）中能够容纳发光星系的最小暗物质晕特性的预测。数据与这些小物体的模型预测的对抗有望在超出用于约束其主要参数的尺度上验证或挑战既定范式。共同努力评估自然界最小河外天体的宇宙学意义的时机已经成熟。我建议使用各种观测和理论工具来研究这个主题，从暗物质晕形成的详细 N 体模拟，到发光矮星系形成的气体动力学模拟，再到旨在调查最微弱星系的直接观测工作并了解它们对我们银河系形成的影响。