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Implications of the Milky Way declining rotation curve

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Moffat, J. W., Sharron, H., Toth, V. T.·2025·International Journal of Modern Physics D
DOI 10.1142/s0218271825500348

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Abstract

Almost all spiral galaxies have been observed to have flattening rotation curves. The new Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3) shows a Milky Way with a sharply Keplerian declining rotation curve, starting at [Formula: see text]16[Formula: see text]kpc and ending at 26.5[Formula: see text]kpc. The data reduce the total Milky Way mass by an order of magnitude, [Formula: see text], compared to the standard required dark matter halo mass, [Formula: see text]. Newtonian and MOdified Gravity (MOG) fits are applied to the Gaia DR3 rotation curve data. The fit obtained using MOG has a total mass of [Formula: see text], while the Newtonian fit predicts a mass of [Formula: see text]. These are in excess of the estimated visible baryon mass of the Milky Way, [Formula: see text]. It is possible that if the mass of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) plasma-gas continues to be confirmed experimentally, then the additional baryon mass required to account for the estimated total Milky Way mass could be attributed to the CGM hot plasma-gas halo.

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  • Moffat et al. (2025) fit the Jiao et al. data with α_MOG = 13 and λ = 25 kpc, obtaining M_tot ≈ 1.3 × 10^11 M⊙, attributing the residual mass to the hot plasma of the circumgalactic medium (CGM).

    “Moffat et al. (2025) fit the Jiao et al. data with α MOG = 13 and λ = 25 kpc, obtaining M tot ≈ 1 . 3 × 10 11 M ⊙ , attributing the residual mass to the hot plasma of the circumgalactic medium (CGM).”

    From The rotation curve of the Milky Way: State of the art, the Keplerian decline debate, and implications for dark matter (2026) · cites this paper as Moffat et al. (2025)

    Section 3 reports a fit to the Jiao et al. data with M₀ = 1.34 × 10¹¹ M⊙, supporting the approximate mass, but gives α = 0.91 and μ = 0.0803 kpc⁻¹, not α_MOG = 13 or λ = 25 kpc. Section 4 says the excess mass could be dark matter or missing baryons, and treats an explanation involving hot CGM gas as a possibility rather than an established attribution. (LLM, conf=0.91)

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Cites

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Related

Authors
Moffat, J. W., Sharron, H., & Toth, V. T.
Affiliations
  • University of Waterloo (CA)
  • Perimeter Institute (CA)
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Modern Physics D
Publisher
World Scientific Pub Co Pte Ltd
Published
2025-05-23
Volume
34
Issue
07n08
ISSN
  • 0218-2718 (ISSN-L)
  • 1793-6594
DOI
10.1142/s0218271825500348
OpenAlex
W4409157519
Cited by
2
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1
FWCI
0.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • International Journal of Modern Physics D (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (cc-by)
Funders
  • Government of Canada
  • Industry Canada
  • Institut Périmètre de physique théorique
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
Keywords
Milky Way rotation curve, halo mass, modified gravity, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, Gaia DR3, circumgalactic medium, baryon masses, spiral galaxies, galaxy mass

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