Stellar Density Profiles of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
  We apply a flexible parametric model, a combination of generalized Plummer
profiles, to infer the shapes of the stellar density profiles of the Milky
Way's satellite dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). We apply this model to 40
dSphs using star counts from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, PanStarrs-1 Survey,
Dark Energy Survey, and Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey. Using mock data, we
examine systematic errors associated with modelling assumptions and identify
conditions under which our model can identify `non-standard' stellar density
profiles that have central cusps and/or steepened outer slopes. Applying our
model to real dwarf spheroidals, we do not find evidence for centrally cusped
density profiles among the fifteen Milky Way satellites for which our tests
with mock data indicate there would be sufficient detectability. We do detect
steepened (with respect to a standard Plummer model) outer profiles in several
dSphs--Fornax, Leo I, Leo II, and Reticulum II--which may point to distinct
evolutionary pathways for these objects. However, the outer slope of the
stellar density profile does not yet obviously correlate with other observed
galaxy properties.
