Constraints on blue and red tilted primordial power spectra using dwarf galaxy properties
Although the standard $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}+\mathrm{cold}$ dark matter ($\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$) model is well tested on large scales, the primordial power spectrum may deviate from the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ spectrum on small scales due to specific dark matter properties or alternative inflationary models. These deviations affect the formation of dark matter structure, which subsequently leads to different observable properties of galaxies. In this work, we study the impact of a blue and red tilted power spectrum on the central density of dwarf galaxies. To do this, we model densities of dwarf galaxies using a combination of high-resolution numerical simulations and galaxy formation model. The model galaxies in $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ are consistent with observations of 41 faint dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. The deviations from the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ power spectrum are constrained by the central matter densities of dwarf galaxies, which set stringent constraints on the possible small-scale tilt of the primordial power spectrum, improving on the current limits. Moreover, similar analysis can be applied to test any feature in the power spectrum at small scales between $k\ensuremath{\sim}10--100\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{Mpc}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$.
Authors
- Ariane Dekker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3831-9442)
- Andrey V. Kravtsov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4307-634X)
Institutions
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Published
- 2025-03-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.063516
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.39
Funders
- Kavli Foundation
- Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago