The Origin of Spin-Alignment of Dark Matter Subhalos

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Osafune, Daiki, Wada, Keiichi, Ishiyama, Tomoaki, Okamoto, Takashi
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Osafune, Daiki
Wada, Keiichi
Ishiyama, Tomoaki
Okamoto, Takashi
author_facet Osafune, Daiki
Wada, Keiichi
Ishiyama, Tomoaki
Okamoto, Takashi
contents Subhalo spin is essential for modeling galaxy formation and controlling systematic uncertainties in intrinsic alignment (IA) studies. However, the physical mechanisms governing subhalo spin acquisition within the tidal environments of host halos remain poorly understood. In this work, we investigate the alignment between subhalo and host halo spins using the high-resolution cosmological $N$-body simulation, Shin-Uchuu. We find that the spin alignment between subhalos and host halos becomes increasingly pronounced toward the central regions. Our analysis reveals that subhalos typically acquire spin in the same direction as their orbital angular momentum. Since the orbital angular momentum of most subhalos is aligned with the host halo spin, an overall alignment between subhalo and host spins emerges. When classified by orbital orientation, however, subhalo spins in the inner regions are found to be oriented perpendicularly or anti-parallel to the host spin for polar and retrograde orbits, respectively. These results provide strong evidence that subhalo spins are acquired through torques exerted by the tidal field of the host halo. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the mass ratio and the radial distance from the host center are the primary parameters governing subhalo spin alignment, while the dependence on the accretion redshift plays a less significant role compared to the radial distance and mass ratio.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_02678
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Origin of Spin-Alignment of Dark Matter Subhalos
Osafune, Daiki
Wada, Keiichi
Ishiyama, Tomoaki
Okamoto, Takashi
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Subhalo spin is essential for modeling galaxy formation and controlling systematic uncertainties in intrinsic alignment (IA) studies. However, the physical mechanisms governing subhalo spin acquisition within the tidal environments of host halos remain poorly understood. In this work, we investigate the alignment between subhalo and host halo spins using the high-resolution cosmological $N$-body simulation, Shin-Uchuu. We find that the spin alignment between subhalos and host halos becomes increasingly pronounced toward the central regions. Our analysis reveals that subhalos typically acquire spin in the same direction as their orbital angular momentum. Since the orbital angular momentum of most subhalos is aligned with the host halo spin, an overall alignment between subhalo and host spins emerges. When classified by orbital orientation, however, subhalo spins in the inner regions are found to be oriented perpendicularly or anti-parallel to the host spin for polar and retrograde orbits, respectively. These results provide strong evidence that subhalo spins are acquired through torques exerted by the tidal field of the host halo. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the mass ratio and the radial distance from the host center are the primary parameters governing subhalo spin alignment, while the dependence on the accretion redshift plays a less significant role compared to the radial distance and mass ratio.
title The Origin of Spin-Alignment of Dark Matter Subhalos
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.02678