Testing the Prediction of Fuzzy Dark Matter Theory in the Milky Way Center

Abstract

The fuzzy dark matter model (FDM, also known as quantum wave dark matter model) argues that light bosons with a mass of $\sim 10^{-22}\mathrm{eV}$ are a possible candidate for dark matter in the Universe. One of the most important predictions of FDM is the formation of a soliton core instead of a density cusp at the center of galaxies. If FDM is the correct theory of dark matter, then the predicted soliton core can help to form the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) in the Milky Way. We present high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of gas flow patterns to constrain the properties of the soliton core based on a realistic Milky Way potential. We find that a dense center is required to form a reasonable CMZ. The size and kinematics of the CMZ offer a relatively strong constraint on the inner enclosed mass profile of the Galaxy. If a soliton core is not considered, a compact nuclear bulge alone with a radially varying mass-to-light ratio can match the observed size and kinematics of the CMZ. A soliton core model with a mass of $\approx 4.0\times 10^8{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ and a core radius of $\approx 0.05\mathrm{kpc}$, together with a less massive nuclear bulge with a constant mass-to-light ratio, also agrees nicely with the current data. Such a FDM soliton core corresponds to a boson mass of $\sim 2-7\times 10^{-22}\mathrm{eV}$, which could be further constrained by the improved determination of the mass-to-light ratio in the Galactic center.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in ApJ. 14 pages, 7 figures

References in corpus (66)

• A Universal Density Profile from Hierarchical Clustering
• Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Final Maps and Results
• The Milky Way in Molecular Clouds: A New Complete CO Survey
• The propagation of uncertainties in stellar population synthesis modeling I: The relevance of uncertain aspects of stellar evolution and the IMF to the derived physical properties of galaxies
• Cold and Fuzzy Dark Matter
• Ultralight scalars as cosmological dark matter
• Small-Scale Challenges to the $\Lambda$CDM Paradigm
• THINGS: The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey
• CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey: I. Survey presentation
• The propagation of uncertainties in stellar population synthesis modeling III: model calibration, comparison, and evaluation
• Athena: A New Code for Astrophysical MHD
• Cosmic Structure as the Quantum Interference of a Coherent Dark Wave
• The Core-Cusp Problem
• HERACLES: The HERA CO-Line Extragalactic Survey
• Understanding the Core-Halo Relation of Quantum Wave Dark Matter, $\psi$DM, from 3D Simulations
• An Unsplit Godunov Method for Ideal MHD via Constrained Transport
• Cold dark matter: controversies on small scales
• First constraints on fuzzy dark matter from Lyman-$\alpha$ forest data and hydrodynamical simulations
• The Nuclear Bulge of the Galaxy. III. Large-Scale Physical Characteristics of Stars and Interstellar Matter
• A direct dynamical measurement of the Milky Way's disk surface density profile, disk scale length, and dark matter profile at 4 kpc < R < 9 kpc
• Mapping the Three-Dimensional Density of the Galactic Bulge with VVV Red Clump Stars
• Dark matter and cosmic structure
• Forged in FIRE: cusps, cores, and baryons in low-mass dwarf galaxies
• Dynamical modelling of the Galactic bulge and bar: the Milky Way's bar pattern speed, stellar, and dark matter mass distribution
• A 100-parsec elliptical and twisted ring of cold and dense molecular clouds revealed by Herschel around the Galactic Center
• The Bulge Radial Velocity Assay (BRAVA): II. Complete Sample and Data Release
• The dynamical evolution of molecular clouds near the Galactic Centre - I. Orbital structure and evolutionary timeline
• A Model For Halo Formation With Axion Mixed Dark Matter
• Dark matter heats up in dwarf galaxies
• Molecular gas kinematics within the central 250 pc of the Milky Way
• Mass and shape of the Milky Way's dark matter halo with globular clusters from Gaia and Hubble
• Contrasting Galaxy Formation from Quantum Wave Dark Matter, $\psi$DM, with $\Lambda$CDM, using Planck and Hubble Data
• Galactic Rotation Curves vs. Ultra-Light Dark Matter: Implications of the Soliton -- Host Halo Relation
• Made-to-Measure models of the Galactic Box/Peanut bulge: stellar and total mass in the bulge region
• Gas flow models in the Milky Way embedded bars
• Instabilities of Spiral Shocks I: Onset of Wiggle Instability and its Mechanism
• Ultra-Light Dark Matter in Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies
• Jeans Analysis for Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies in Wave Dark Matter
• Gas flow in barred potentials
• Early formation and recent starburst activity in the nuclear disc of the Milky Way
• Constraints on dark matter scenarios from measurements of the galaxy luminosity function at high redshifts
• Central Regions of Barred Galaxies: Two-Dimensional Non-self-gravitating Hydrodynamic Simulations
• Gas flow in barred potentials - III. Effects of varying the Quadrupole
• The Formation of Nuclear Rings in Barred Spiral Galaxies
• Mass inflow rate into the Central Molecular Zone: observational determination and evidence of episodic accretion
• A theoretical explanation for the Central Molecular Zone asymmetry
• The Life Cycle of the Central Molecular Zone. I: Inflow, Star Formation, and Winds
• Gaseous Structures in Barred Galaxies: Effects of the Bar Strength
• Ultra-light dark matter in disk galaxies
• Gas dynamics in the Milky Way: a low pattern speed model
• Testing extreme-axion wave dark matter using the BOSS Lyman-Alpha forest data
• Nuclear Spirals in the inner Milky Way
• Two-Dimensional Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Barred Galaxies
• Kinematic Detection of the Galactic Nuclear Disc
• A dynamical mechanism for the origin of nuclear rings
• Spatially Resolved Stellar Kinematics of the Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy Dragonfly 44: II. Constraints on Fuzzy Dark Matter
• On the Interpretation of the l-v Features in the Milky Way Galaxy
• Nature of the Wiggle Instability of Galactic Spiral Shocks
• H2O Southern Galactic Plane Survey (HOPS): Paper III - Properties of Dense Molecular Gas across the Inner Milky Way
• Kinematics and properties of the Central Molecular Zone as probed with [C II]
• Halo Abundance and Assembly History with Extreme-Axion Wave Dark Matter at $z\ge 4$
• Periodicity makes galactic shocks unstable - I. Linear analysis
• Testing Hydrodynamics Schemes in Galaxy Disc Simulations
• Migration of Star Clusters and Nuclear Rings
• Hydrodynamic simulations of the central molecular zone with realistic Galactic potential
• Rapid formation of black holes in galaxies: a self-limiting growth mechanism

Cited by in corpus (22)

• Wave Dark Matter
• New insights into the formation and growth of boson stars in dark matter halos
• Simulations of the Milky Way's central molecular zone -- I. Gas dynamics
• Fuzzy Dark Matter and Dark Matter Halo Cores
• Soliton Random Walk and the Cluster-Stripping Problem in Ultralight Dark Matter
• Gas Dynamics in the Galaxy: Total Mass Distribution and the Bar Pattern Speed
• Black hole merger simulations in wave dark matter environments
• Jeans modelling of the Milky Way's nuclear stellar disc
• The effect of wave dark matter on equal mass black hole mergers
• Growth of accretion driven scalar hair around Kerr black holes
• Multiple Images and Flux Ratio Anomaly of Fuzzy Gravitational Lenses
• Dark matter profiles of SPARC galaxies: a challenge to fuzzy dark matter
• Cosmological Simulations of Two-Component Wave Dark Matter
• Constraint on the mass of fuzzy dark matter from the rotation curve of the Milky Way
• Model-independent constraints on ultra-light dark matter from the SPARC data
• Prospects of Probing Dark Matter Condensates with Gravitational Waves
• Constraining Ultra Light Dark Matter with the Galactic Nuclear Star Cluster
• Gravitational atoms beyond the test field limit: The case of Sgr A* and ultralight dark matter
• Fuzzy dark matter simulations
• Crossing the dark matter soliton core: a possible reversed orbital precession
• To observe, or not to observe, quantum-coherent dark matter in the Milky Way, that is a question
• Uncertainty-Aware Neural Networks for Fuzzy Dark Matter Model Selection from \texorpdfstring{$x_{\mathrm{HI}}$}{x_HI} Measurements