Does dark matter protect cluster dwarf galaxies from disruption?

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Thorsten Lisker
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2010 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 191797926

High ratios of dark to luminous mass appear to be typical for dwarf spheroidal galaxies, not only as Milky Way satellites: Recently it was shown that these faint, diffuse galaxies would be disrupted in the Perseus cluster center if they did not contain a major amount of dark matter. However, in both environments the argumentation hinges on a critical assumption: the galaxies need to be in an equilibrium state. If they are instead in the process of disruption, no significant dark matter content could be inferred, making the dwarfs a crucial test for our understanding of galaxy formation in the cosmological context. Deep imaging will reveal tidal tails and signs of disruption around these galaxies – or provide a strong confirmation on the presence of unseen mass and therefore of CDM in general.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants