Through a Smoother Lens: An expected absence of LCDM substructure detections from hydrodynamic and dark matter only...

A fundamental prediction of the cold dark matter cosmology is the existence of a large number of dark subhalos around galaxies, most of which should be entirely devoid of stars. Confirming the existence of dark substructures stands among the most important empirical challenges in modern cosmology: if they are found and quantified with the mass spectrum expected, then this would close the door on a vast array of competing theories. But in order for observational programs of this kind to reach fruition, we need robust predictions. Here we explore substructure predictions for lensing using galaxy lens-like hosts at z=0.2 from the Illustris simulations both in full hydrodynamics and dark matter only. We quantify substructures more massive than ~ 10⁹ M_☉, comparable to current lensing detections derived from HST, Keck, and ALMA. The addition of full hydrodynamics reduces the overall subhalo mass function by about a factor of two. Even for the dark matter only runs, most (~85 per cent) projections through the halo of size close to an Einstein radius contain no substructures larger than 10⁹ M_☉. The fraction of empty projections through the halo rises to ~95 per cent in full physics simulations. This suggests we will likely need hundreds of strong lensing systems suitable for substructure studies, as well as predictions that include the effects of baryon physics on substructure, to properly constrain cosmological models. Fortunately, the field is poised to fulfill these requirements.