ASPCS
 
Back to Volume
Paper: CDM Substructure Problem and Star Formation in Dwarf Halos
Volume: 419, Galaxy Evolution: Emerging Insights and Future Challenges
Page: 283
Authors: Kravtsov, A.
Abstract: During the last decade cosmological simulations have convincingly demonstrated that virialized regions of Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halos are filled with a multitude of dense, gravitationally-bound clumps. These dark matter subhalos are central regions of halos that survived strong gravitational tidal forces and dynamical friction during the hierarchical sequence of merging and accretion via which the CDM halos form. Comparisons with observations revealed that there is a glaring discrepancy between abundance of subhalos and luminous satellites of the Milky Way and Andromeda as a function of their circular velocity or bound mass within a fixed aperture. This large discrepancy, which became known as the “substructure” or the “missing satellites” problem, begs for an explanation. In this contribution I briefly review the progress made during the last several years in exploring different physical explanations of the problem, focusing on the explanations in the framework of the CDM paradigm of structure formation. I also argue that in addition to UV heating and supernova feedback we need to carefully examine the role of inefficient star formation in low surface density, low metallicity environments of dwarf halos in suppressing their efficiency to form luminous components.
Back to Volume