Core-halo scaling relations in self-interacting scalar field dark matter

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Main Authors: López-Sánchez, Jessica N., Munive-Villa, Erick, Rindler-Daller, Tanja
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author López-Sánchez, Jessica N.
Munive-Villa, Erick
Rindler-Daller, Tanja
author_facet López-Sánchez, Jessica N.
Munive-Villa, Erick
Rindler-Daller, Tanja
contents We study the impact of self-interactions on the structure and evolution of scalar field dark matter (SFDM) halos. Using three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii-Poisson simulations of multiple soliton mergers, we explore both repulsive and attractive regimes across a wide range of scattering lengths. Our results show that repulsive self-interactions lead to more massive and extended cores with lower central densities compared to the free (non-interacting) fuzzy dark matter case, while attractive interactions enhance central densities and can drive cores toward collapse, once a critical mass is exceeded. We confirm that the mass-radius relation of solitonic cores is well described by analytical predictions, even in the presence of self-interactions, and we extend the core-halo mass relation to scenarios beyond fuzzy dark matter. We find that the scaling relations between core mass, size, and total energy are not universal but depend sensitively on the strength and sign of the self-interaction, as well as on the evolutionary stage of the halo. These results demonstrate that self-interactions provide a natural mechanism to regulate core properties, with important implications for the formation of supermassive black holes and for potential astrophysical signatures in galactic cores.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_07020
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Core-halo scaling relations in self-interacting scalar field dark matter
López-Sánchez, Jessica N.
Munive-Villa, Erick
Rindler-Daller, Tanja
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
We study the impact of self-interactions on the structure and evolution of scalar field dark matter (SFDM) halos. Using three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii-Poisson simulations of multiple soliton mergers, we explore both repulsive and attractive regimes across a wide range of scattering lengths. Our results show that repulsive self-interactions lead to more massive and extended cores with lower central densities compared to the free (non-interacting) fuzzy dark matter case, while attractive interactions enhance central densities and can drive cores toward collapse, once a critical mass is exceeded. We confirm that the mass-radius relation of solitonic cores is well described by analytical predictions, even in the presence of self-interactions, and we extend the core-halo mass relation to scenarios beyond fuzzy dark matter. We find that the scaling relations between core mass, size, and total energy are not universal but depend sensitively on the strength and sign of the self-interaction, as well as on the evolutionary stage of the halo. These results demonstrate that self-interactions provide a natural mechanism to regulate core properties, with important implications for the formation of supermassive black holes and for potential astrophysical signatures in galactic cores.
title Core-halo scaling relations in self-interacting scalar field dark matter
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.07020