slides

The Distribution of Dark Mass in Galaxies: Techniques, Puzzles, and Implications for Lensing

Abstract

Gravitational lensing is one of a number of methods used to probe the distribution of dark mass in the Universe. On galactic scales, complementary techniques include the use of stellar kinematics, kinematics and morphology of the neutral gas layer, kinematics of satellites, and morphology and temperature profile of X-ray halos. These methods are compared, with emphasis on their relative strengths and weaknesses in constraining the distribution and extent of dark matter in the Milky Way and other galaxies. It is concluded that (1) the extent of dark halos remains ill-constrained, (2) halos need not be isothermal, and (3) the dark mass is probably quite flattened.Comment: Invited Review at IAU Symposium 173, "Gravitational Lensing," Melbourne, July 1995, eds. C. Kochanek and J. Hewitt. 10 pages, 1 Postscript Figure. A few typos have been corrected and a few references adde

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