Dark Matter: Observational Aspects

Abstract

A review of observational work on dark matter in USSR is given. Dynamically the dark matter can be located (i) in the galactic disk and/or in dwarf galaxies, (ii) in coronas of galaxies and in clusters of galaxies, and (iii) distributed smoothly in voids. The possible amount of matter in all three forms is discussed. Physically dark matter can be baryonic or non-baryonic, in the latter case either hot, warm or cold. Available information on the nature of dark matter is indirect, coming from theories of the formation of structure in the Universe. Two constraints to the formation scenarios are discussed, the galaxian correlation function and their morphology.