Supermassive Black Holes from Ultra-Strongly Self-Interacting Dark Matter
read the original abstract
We consider the cosmological consequences if a small fraction ($f\lesssim 0.1$) of the dark matter is ultra-strongly self-interacting, with an elastic self-interaction cross-section per unit mass $\sigma\gg1\ \mathrm{cm^{2}/g}$. This possibility evades all current constraints that assume that the self-interacting component makes up the majority of the dark matter. Nevertheless, even a small fraction of ultra-strongly self-interacting dark matter (uSIDM) can have observable consequences on astrophysical scales. In particular, the uSIDM subcomponent can undergo gravothermal collapse and form seed black holes in the center of a halo. These seed black holes, which form within several hundred halo interaction times, contain a few percent of the total uSIDM mass in the halo. For reasonable values of $\sigma f$, these black holes can form at high enough redshifts to grow to $\sim10^9 M_\odot$ quasars by $z \gtrsim 6$, alleviating tension within the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. The ubiquitous formation of central black holes in halos could also create cores in dwarf galaxies by ejecting matter during binary black hole mergers, potentially resolving the "too big to fail" problem.
This paper has not been read by Pith yet.
Forward citations
Cited by 5 Pith papers
-
Non-Equilibrium Relativistic Core Collapse of Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos -- Limits On Seed Black Hole Mass
Non-equilibrium relativistic SIDM halo collapse produces seed black holes of mass ~3e-8 of the halo mass at apparent horizon formation.
-
Probing Collapsed Dark Matter Halos with Fast Radio Bursts
Core-collapsed SIDM halos produce longer FRB image time delays than CDM halos, enabling future surveys to constrain self-interaction cross sections above roughly 18-40 cm²/g depending on collapse timing.
-
Direct Collapse Black Hole Candidates from Decaying Dark Matter
Axion dark matter decay injects 1-13.6 eV photons that suppress H2, enabling atomic cooling halos and direct collapse black hole seeds for axion masses 24.5-26.5 eV and couplings down to 4e-12/GeV.
-
Self-interacting dark matter and core formation in field low-surface-brightness galaxies
Order-of-magnitude estimates exclude a self-interaction cross section of 1 cm²/g for dark matter in isolated low-surface-brightness galaxies while favoring 0.1 cm²/g.
-
Bypassed Core Formation in Milky Way-Mass SIDM Halos: Implications for the Local Group Past-Pericenter Scenario
MW-mass SIDM halos bypass core formation and enter immediate core collapse due to baryonic preconditioning, allowing the compact stellar disk and bulge to survive close pericenter passages while the diffuse halo is mo...
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.