Understanding the origin of dark matter cores

Please note that this student has yet to start, and I always allow students some leeway in defining their own project. However, here is the outline of the area I will be suggesting.

The way that dark matter is distributed through galaxies is, potentially, an indicator of the nature of dark matter itself. Different types of particle behave in different ways as gravitational collapse binds them together. However, confusing this link is the fact that rapidly changing gravitational potentials, generated by stellar feedback within galaxies, can alter the orbit of individual dark matter particles (Pontzen & Governato 2012).

This can change the distribution of dark matter near the galaxy centre, a process that must be fully understood before we have a hope of using observations of galaxies to constrain the dark matter particle type. Here, we will use state-of-the-art, 1pc-resolution simulations performed using the STFC DIRAC facility, combined with new analytic calculations, to refine our understanding of how changing gravitational potentials resculpt dark matter.