A universal constant for dark matter-baryon interplay

Area of Science:

• Cosmology
• Astrophysics
• Galaxy Formation and Evolution

Background:

• Existing dark matter scaling relations and baryon connections are primarily observed in galaxies, not galaxy clusters.
• A gap exists in understanding the interplay between dark matter and baryons across different cosmic structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel expression for characterizing dark matter-baryon interplay.
• To establish a universal relation applicable to both galactic and galaxy cluster scales.

Main Methods:

• Utilized archival observational data from both galaxies and galaxy clusters.
• Analyzed the relationship between average dark matter density, average baryon density, characteristic velocity, and interacting volume.

Main Results:

• Discovered a scale-independent constant value, K, within the optical radius (r_o).
• This constant (K) represents a universal dark matter-baryon interplay applicable across galactic and galaxy cluster scales.

Conclusions:

• The identified universal relation is the first of its kind for dark matter-baryon interactions.
• This finding may provide a foundation for addressing the small-scale dark matter problem and galaxy scaling relations.
• The discovered constant K suggests a potential underlying global interaction between dark matter and baryons.