2017 | James S. Bullock and Michael Boylan-Kolchin
TheΛCDM (Lambda Cold Dark Matter) cosmological model has been highly successful in predicting and explaining the large-scale structure and evolution of the universe. However, on scales smaller than approximately \(10^{11}M_{\odot}\), the model faces several challenges. These include the observed cores of dark-matter dominated galaxies being less dense and less cuspy than predicted, and the number of small galaxies and dwarf satellites in the Local Group being significantly lower than expected based on the predicted count of low-mass dark matter halos. These issues are known as the Cusp/Core, Missing Satellites, and Too-Big-To-Fail problems. The paper discusses the need for better understanding of baryon physics, dark matter physics, or both to address these challenges. Future surveys to discover and characterize faint, distant dwarf galaxies and to measure their masses and density structures hold promise for testing possible solutions. Observational programs to constrain or discover truly dark low-mass halos are among the most important and achievable goals in this field over the next decade. These efforts will either verify theΛCDM paradigm or demand a substantial revision in our understanding of dark matter.TheΛCDM (Lambda Cold Dark Matter) cosmological model has been highly successful in predicting and explaining the large-scale structure and evolution of the universe. However, on scales smaller than approximately \(10^{11}M_{\odot}\), the model faces several challenges. These include the observed cores of dark-matter dominated galaxies being less dense and less cuspy than predicted, and the number of small galaxies and dwarf satellites in the Local Group being significantly lower than expected based on the predicted count of low-mass dark matter halos. These issues are known as the Cusp/Core, Missing Satellites, and Too-Big-To-Fail problems. The paper discusses the need for better understanding of baryon physics, dark matter physics, or both to address these challenges. Future surveys to discover and characterize faint, distant dwarf galaxies and to measure their masses and density structures hold promise for testing possible solutions. Observational programs to constrain or discover truly dark low-mass halos are among the most important and achievable goals in this field over the next decade. These efforts will either verify theΛCDM paradigm or demand a substantial revision in our understanding of dark matter.