Galactic disc heating by density granulation in fuzzy dark matter simulations

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Yang, Hsun-Yeong, Chiang, Barry T., Su, Guan-Ming, Schive, Hsi-Yu, Chiueh, Tzihong, Ostriker, Jeremiah P.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Yang, Hsun-Yeong
Chiang, Barry T.
Su, Guan-Ming
Schive, Hsi-Yu
Chiueh, Tzihong
Ostriker, Jeremiah P.
author_facet Yang, Hsun-Yeong
Chiang, Barry T.
Su, Guan-Ming
Schive, Hsi-Yu
Chiueh, Tzihong
Ostriker, Jeremiah P.
contents Fuzzy dark matter (FDM), an attractive dark matter candidate comprising ultralight bosons (axions) with a particle mass $m_a\sim10^{-22}$ eV, is motivated by the small-scale challenges of cold dark matter and features a kpc-size de Broglie wavelength. Quantum wave interference inside an FDM halo gives rise to stochastically fluctuating density granulation; the resulting gravitational perturbations could drive significant disc thickening, providing a natural explanation for galactic thick discs. Here we present the first self-consistent simulations of FDM haloes and stellar discs, exploring $m_a=0.2-1.2\times10^{-22}$ eV and halo masses $M_\text{h} = 0.7-2.8\times10^{11}$ M$_\odot$. Disc thickening is observed in all simulated systems. The disc heating rates are approximately constant in time and increase substantially with decreasing $m_a$, reaching $dh/dt \simeq 0.04$ ($0.4$) kpc Gyr$^{-1}$ and $dσ_z^2/dt \simeq4$ ($150$) km$^2$s$^{-2}$Gyr$^{-1}$ for $m_a=1.2$ ($0.2$) $\times10^{-22}$ eV and $M_\text{h} =7\times10^{10} \text{M}_\odot$, where $h$ is the disc scale height and $σ_z$ is the vertical velocity dispersion. These simulated heating rates agree within a factor of two with the theoretical estimates of Chiang et al., confirming that the rough estimate of Church et al. overpredicts the granulation-driven disc heating rate by two orders of magnitude. However, the simulation-inferred heating rates scale less steeply than the theoretically predicted relation $dσ^2_z/dt \propto m_a^{-3}$. Finally, we examine the applicability of the Fokker-Planck approximation in FDM granulation modelling and the robustness of the $m_a$ exclusion bound derived from the Galactic disc kinematics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_09845
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Galactic disc heating by density granulation in fuzzy dark matter simulations
Yang, Hsun-Yeong
Chiang, Barry T.
Su, Guan-Ming
Schive, Hsi-Yu
Chiueh, Tzihong
Ostriker, Jeremiah P.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Fuzzy dark matter (FDM), an attractive dark matter candidate comprising ultralight bosons (axions) with a particle mass $m_a\sim10^{-22}$ eV, is motivated by the small-scale challenges of cold dark matter and features a kpc-size de Broglie wavelength. Quantum wave interference inside an FDM halo gives rise to stochastically fluctuating density granulation; the resulting gravitational perturbations could drive significant disc thickening, providing a natural explanation for galactic thick discs. Here we present the first self-consistent simulations of FDM haloes and stellar discs, exploring $m_a=0.2-1.2\times10^{-22}$ eV and halo masses $M_\text{h} = 0.7-2.8\times10^{11}$ M$_\odot$. Disc thickening is observed in all simulated systems. The disc heating rates are approximately constant in time and increase substantially with decreasing $m_a$, reaching $dh/dt \simeq 0.04$ ($0.4$) kpc Gyr$^{-1}$ and $dσ_z^2/dt \simeq4$ ($150$) km$^2$s$^{-2}$Gyr$^{-1}$ for $m_a=1.2$ ($0.2$) $\times10^{-22}$ eV and $M_\text{h} =7\times10^{10} \text{M}_\odot$, where $h$ is the disc scale height and $σ_z$ is the vertical velocity dispersion. These simulated heating rates agree within a factor of two with the theoretical estimates of Chiang et al., confirming that the rough estimate of Church et al. overpredicts the granulation-driven disc heating rate by two orders of magnitude. However, the simulation-inferred heating rates scale less steeply than the theoretically predicted relation $dσ^2_z/dt \propto m_a^{-3}$. Finally, we examine the applicability of the Fokker-Planck approximation in FDM granulation modelling and the robustness of the $m_a$ exclusion bound derived from the Galactic disc kinematics.
title Galactic disc heating by density granulation in fuzzy dark matter simulations
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.09845