  Recent observations have discovered star formation activities in the extreme
outer regions of disk galaxies. However it remains unclear what physical
mechanisms are responsible for triggering star formation in such low-density
gaseous environments of galaxies. In order to understand the origin of these
outer star-forming regions, we numerically investigate how the impact of dark
matter subhalos orbiting a gas-rich disk galaxy embedded in a massive dark
matter halo influences the dynamical evolution of outer HI gas disk of the
galaxy. We find that if the masses of the subhalos ($M_{\rm sb}$) in a galaxy
with an extended HI gas disk are as large as $10^{-3} \times M_{\rm h}$, where
$M_{\rm h}$ is the total mass of the galaxy's dark halo, local fine structures
can be formed in the extended HI disk. We also find that the gas densities of
some apparently filamentary structures can exceed a threshold gas density for
star formation and thus be likely to be converted into new stars in the outer
part of the HI disk in some models with larger $M_{\rm sb}$. These results thus
imply that the impact of dark matter subhalos (``dark impact'') can be
important for better understanding the origin of recent star formation
discovered in the extreme outer regions of disk galaxies. We also suggest that
characteristic morphologies of local gaseous structures formed by the dark
impact can indirectly prove the existence of dark matter subhalos in galaxies.
We discuss the origin of giant HI holes observed in some gas-rich galaxies
(e.g., NGC 6822) in the context of the dark impact.
