Diverse dark matter density at sub-kiloparsec scales in Milky Way satellites: Implications for the nature of dark matter

Abstract

Milky Way (MW) satellites reside within dark matter (DM) subhalos with a broad distribution of circular velocity profiles. This diversity is enhanced with the inclusion of ultrafaint satellites, which seemingly have very high DM densities, albeit with large systematic uncertainties. We argue that if confirmed, this large diversity in the MW satellite population poses a serious test for the structure formation theory with possible implications for the DM nature. For the cold dark matter model, the diversity might be a signature of the combined effects of subhalo tidal disruption by the MW disk and strong supernova feedback. For models with a dwarf-scale cutoff in the power spectrum, the diversity is a consequence of the lower abundance of dwarf-scale halos. This diversity is most challenging for self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) models with cross sections σ / m χ ≳ 1     cm 2   g − 1 where subhalos have too low densities to explain the ultrafaint galaxies. We propose a novel solution to explain the diversity of MW satellites based on the gravothermal collapse of SIDM haloes. This solution requires a velocity-dependent cross section that predicts a bimodal distribution of cuspy dense (collapsed) subhaloes consistent with the ultrafaint satellites, and cored lower density subhaloes consistent with the brighter satellites.