> with JWST we see light and need to infer what the underlying properties of the system are
Every theory of dark matter is based exclusively on light-emitting objects. There is no "contrast" between JWST's methods and those of others. Casting aspersions on JWST because it can only see light is like casting aspersions on Galileo because he could only build telescopes. If we could teleport to the things we study and get more information that way, it would be nice, but we live in reality and must bend to its rules.
> highly sensitive to the galaxy formation model that's adopted
I should only need to remind the reader of the classic idiom "cart before the horse" to remind them that this line of reasoning is invalid.
Every theory of dark matter is based exclusively on light-emitting objects. There is no "contrast" between JWST's methods and those of others. Casting aspersions on JWST because it can only see light is like casting aspersions on Galileo because he could only build telescopes. If we could teleport to the things we study and get more information that way, it would be nice, but we live in reality and must bend to its rules.
> highly sensitive to the galaxy formation model that's adopted
I should only need to remind the reader of the classic idiom "cart before the horse" to remind them that this line of reasoning is invalid.