Can galaxy light profiles reveal whether dark matter is clumpy or smooth?

Standard dark matter theory predicts clumpy, cuspy density centers in small galaxies, yet observations often find flat cores. This work bypasses the ambiguous deprojection step by deriving the 3D stellar density slope directly from measurable surface brightness derivatives. Applied to six ultra-faint dwarfs, the method consistently reveals flat cores, strengthening the case that something deviates from standard cold dark matter in the smallest galaxies.