Modified Newtonian dynamics at all astrophysical scales
Date
27/11/2008Author
Supervisor
Keywords
Metadata
Show full item recordAltmetrics Handle Statistics
Abstract
In this thesis I test the modified Newtonian dynamics as an alternative to the cold
dark matter hypothesis. In the Milky Way, I show that the dynamics of the dwarf galaxies are well described by the paradigm and I confirm its distant low surface brightness globular
clusters provide a strong test, for which I make predictions. Through analysis of a sample of 26 X-ray bright galaxy groups and
clusters I demonstrate that the three active neutrinos and their anti-particles are insufficient to reconcile
modified Newtonian dynamics with the observed temperatures of the X-ray emitting gas, nor
with weak-lensing measurements, in particular for the bullet cluster. To this end, I propose an 11eV sterile neutrino to
serendipitously resolve the residual mass problem in X-ray bright groups and clusters,
as well as matching the angular power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave
Background. With this in mind, I show that the large collision velocity of the bullet cluster and the high number of colliding clusters is more naturally reproduced in MOND than
in standard dynamics.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.