Dark matter drives galaxy formation within the ΛCDM framework, with massive dark matter halos forming in the early Universe. Studying dark matter from the first billion years is crucial.
Galaxies form within dark matter halos and grow by accreting gas, with baryon movements shaping them and their halos.
An international team found dark matter dominating the halos of two supermassive black holes in galaxies 13 billion light years away, providing insights into the relationship between dark matter and black holes in the early Universe.
A team led by The University of Tokyo studied dark matter in supermassive black holes 13 billion light years away. They used data from ALMA and the ionized carbon (C+) emission line to study gas dynamics in two quasar host galaxies at redshift 6, finding dark matter makes up 60% of each galaxy’s mass.
Kavli IPMU Professor John Silverman said, “Vera Rubin provided the first evidence for dark matter using the rotation curves of nearby local galaxies. We’re using the same technique but now in the early Universe.”
Blue-shifted (towards researchers) and redshifted (away) gas show velocity changes in the galaxy. Unlike past studies, which showed less dark matter in the galaxy’s outskirts, their data shows a flat rotation curve, indicating that more dark matter is needed for high velocities.
These findings shed light on the relationship between dark matter and supermassive black holes, helping us understand galaxy evolution from the early Universe to today.
Journal Reference:
- Qinyue Fei, John D. Silverman, Seiji Fujimoto et al. Assessing the Dark Matter Content of Two Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6 through Gas Kinematics. The Astrophysical Journal. DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/ada145
Source: Tech Explorist
