There is no universal acceleration scale in galaxies

Recently, many studies have seemed to reveal the existence of some correlations between dark matter and baryonic matter. In particular, the unexpected tight radial acceleration relation (RAR) discovered in rotating galaxies has drawn a lot of attention. The RAR suggests the existence of a universal and fundamental acceleration scale in galaxies, which seems to challenge the ΛCDM model and favor some modified gravity theories. A large debate about whether RAR is compatible with the ΛCDM model has arisen. Here, by analyzing the high-quality velocity dispersion profiles of 13 E0-type elliptical galaxies in the SDSS-IV MaNGA sample and assuming a power-law function of radius r for the 3D velocity dispersion in each galaxy, we report the RAR for E0-type elliptical galaxies and we show that the resultant RAR has more than 5σ deviations from the RAR in late-type galaxies. This new RAR provides an independent probe to falsify the existence of any universal acceleration scale in galaxies. Our result significantly challenges those modified gravity theories that suggest the existence of any universal acceleration scale. Copyright © 2023 Astronomical Society of Japan.