NGC1052-DF2 was recently discovered as the dark-matter deficient galaxy claimed by van Dokkum et al. (2018a, vD18). However, large uncertainties on its dynamical mass estimate have been pointed out, concerning… Click to show full abstract
NGC1052-DF2 was recently discovered as the dark-matter deficient galaxy claimed by van Dokkum et al. (2018a, vD18). However, large uncertainties on its dynamical mass estimate have been pointed out, concerning the paucity of sample, statistical methods and distance measurements. In this work, we discuss the effects of the difference in modeling of the tracer profile of this galaxy on the dynamical mass estimate. To do this, we assume that the tracer densities are modeled with power-law and Sersic profiles, and then we solve the spherical Jeans equation to estimate the dynamical mass. Applying these models to kinematic data of globular clusters in NGC1052-DF2, we compare 90 per cent upper limits of dynamical mass-to-light ratios estimated between from this analysis and from vD18. We find that the upper limit obtained by the power-law is virtually the same as the result from vD18, whilst this limit estimated by the Sersic is significantly greater than that from vD18, thereby suggesting that NGC1052-DF2 can still be a dark-matter dominated system. Consequently, we propose that dynamical mass estimate of a galaxy is largely affected by not only small kinematic sample but the choice of tracer distributions, and thus the estimated mass still remains quite uncertain.
               
Click one of the above tabs to view related content.