Dwarf galaxies in CDM and SIDM with baryons: observational probes of the nature of dark matter

Understand

We present the first cosmological simulations of dwarf galaxies, which include dark matter self-interactions and baryons.

• We study two dwarf galaxies within cold dark matter, and four different elastic self-interacting scenarios with constant and velocity-dependent cross sections, motivated by a new force in the hidden dark matter sector.
• Our highest resolution simulation has a baryonic mass resolution of $1.8\times 10^2\,{\rm M}_\odot$ and a gravitational softening length of $34\,{\rm pc}$ at $z=0$.
• In this first study we focus on the regime of mostly isolated dwarf galaxies with halo masses $\sim10^{10}\,{\rm M}_\odot$ where dark matter dynamically dominates even at sub-kpc scales.