Dynamical disequilibrium in dwarf galaxies: rethinking gas dynamics, rotation curves, and dark matter inference

ABSTRACT We quantify departures from hydrodynamical and centrifugal equilibrium in the gas discs of low-mass ($10^{10.75}\lt M_\mathrm{200c}/\mathrm{M}_\odot \lt 10^{11}$) galaxies from the COLIBRE cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. We evaluate the full Eulerian acceleration balance in the mid-plane and show that disequilibrium is widespread: equilibrium-based circular velocity estimates typically have errors of $\ge 10$ per cent ($\approx 75$ per cent of mid-plane gas by mass). Disequilibrium is strongest and the largest associated errors occur in the inner few kiloparsecs that are crucial for constraining the dark matter density profile. Correcting the circular velocity to account for pressure and convective terms does not reliably improve its recovery in strongly perturbed systems where time-dependent forces dominate the residual acceleration budget. Stellar feedback, self-gravitating gas clumps, and active galactic nucleus energy injection account for most strong local perturbations, and large-scale gravitational asymmetries act as a scaffold for disequilibrium. We classify gas discs into coherent, perturbed, and slow/erratic rotators and show that this classification correlates with galaxy properties like mass, morphology, and tracers of recent feedback. A majority of galaxies in our sample would be unsuitable for standard rotation curve analysis. Much of the observed diversity in the shapes of dwarf galaxy rotation curves may stem from non-equilibrium gas motions rather than diversity in mass profiles – resolving the discrepancy is then first and foremost a problem in gas dynamics.