Observed properties of dark matter on small spatial scales

Abstract

The nature of dark matter is one of the outstanding questions of astrophysics. The internal motions of member stars reveal that the lowest luminosity galaxies in the Local Group are the most dark-matter dominated. New large datasets allow one to go further, and determine systematic properties of their dark matter haloes. We summarise recent results, emphasising the critical role of the dwarf spheroidal galaxies in understanding both dark matter and baryonic processes that shape galaxy evolution. © 2008 International Astronomical Union.