Formalism for the Subhalo Mass Function in the Tidal-limit Approximation

Abstract

We present a theoretical formalism by which the global and the local mass functions of dark matter substructures (dark subhalos) can be analytically estimated. The global subhalo mass function is defined to give the total number density of dark subhalos in the universe as a function of mass, while the local subhalo mass function counts only those subhalos included in one individual host halo. We develop our formalism by modifying the Press-Schechter theory to incorporate the followings: (i) the internal structure of dark halos; (ii) the correlations between the halos and the subhalos; (iii) the subhalo mass-loss effect driven by the tidal forces. We find that the resulting (cumulative) subhalo mass function is close to a power law with the slope of ~ -1, that the subhalos contribute approximately 10 % of the total mass, and that the tidal stripping effect changes the subhalo mass function self-similarly, all consistent with recent numerical detections.Comment: revised version, accepted by ApJ Letters, estimate of the local subhalo mass function included, 10 pages, 1 figur