The universal rotation curve of low surface brightness galaxies - IV. The interrelation between dark and luminous matter

Abstract

We investigate the properties of the baryonic and the dark matter components in low surface brightness (LSB) disc galaxies, with central surface brightness in the B band μ0 ≥ 23 mag arcsec−2. The sample is composed of 72 objects, whose rotation curves show an orderly trend reflecting the idea of a universal rotation curve (URC) similar to that found in the local high surface brightness (HSB) spirals in previous works. This curve relies on the mass modelling of the co-added rotation curves, involving the contribution from an exponential stellar disc and a Burkert cored dark matter halo. We find that the dark matter is dominant especially within the smallest and less luminous LSB galaxies. Dark matter haloes have a central surface density Σ0 ∼ 100 M☉ pc−2, similar to galaxies of different Hubble types and luminosities. We find various scaling relations among the LSBs structural properties which turn out to be similar but not identical to what has been found in HSB spirals. In addition, the investigation of these objects calls for the introduction of a new luminous parameter, the stellar compactness C∗ (analogously to a recent work by Karukes & Salucci), alongside the optical radius and the optical velocity in order to reproduce the URC. Furthermore, a mysterious entanglement between the properties of the luminous and the dark matter emerges.