Scalar dark matter vortex stabilization with black holes

Academic Article

Abstract

  • Abstract Galaxies and their dark-matter halos are commonly presupposed to spin. But it is an open question how this spin manifests in halos and soliton cores made of scalar dark matter (SDM, including fuzzy/wave/ultralight-axion dark matter). One way spin could manifest in a necessarily irrotational SDM velocity field is with a vortex. But recent results have cast doubt on this scenario, finding that vortices are generally unstable except with substantial repulsive self-interaction. In this paper, we introduce an alternative route to stability: in both (non-relativistic) analytic calculations and simulations, a black hole or other central mass at least as massive as a soliton can stabilize a vortex within it. This conclusion may also apply to AU-scale halos bound to the sun and stellar-mass-scale Bose stars.
  • Authors

  • Glennon, Noah
  • Mirasola, Anthony E
  • Musoke, Nathan
  • Neyrinck, Mark C
  • Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda
  • Status

    Publication Date

  • July 1, 2023
  • Digital Object Identifier (doi)

    Start Page

  • 004
  • End Page

  • 004
  • Volume

  • 2023
  • Issue

  • 07