An accurate knowledge of the dark matter distribution in the Milky Way is of crucial importance for galaxy formation studies and current searches for particle dark matter .
In this paper we set new dynamical constraints on the Galactic dark matter profile by comparing the observed rotation curve , updated with a comprehensive compilation of kinematic tracers , with that inferred from a wide range of observation-based morphologies of the bulge , disc and gas .
The generalised Navarro-Frenk-White ( NFW ) and Einasto dark matter profiles are fitted to the data in order to determine the favoured ranges of local density , slope and scale radius .
For a representative baryonic model , a typical local circular velocity v _ { 0 } = 230 km/s and a distance of the Sun to the Galactic centre R _ { 0 } = 8 kpc , we find a local dark matter density \rho _ { 0 } = 0.420 ^ { +0.021 } _ { -0.018 } ( 2 \sigma ) \pm 0.025 \textrm { GeV / cm } ^ { 3 } ( \rho _ { 0 } = 0.420 ^ { +0.019 } _ { -0.021 } ( 2 \sigma ) \pm 0.026 \textrm { GeV / cm } ^ { 3 } ) for NFW ( Einasto ) , where the second error is an estimate of the systematic due to baryonic modelling .
Apart from the Galactic parameters , the main sources of uncertainty inside and outside the solar circle are baryonic modelling and rotation curve measurements , respectively .
Upcoming astronomical observations are expected to reduce all these uncertainties substantially over the coming years .