Universal Acceleration and Fuzzy Dark Matter

Abstract

Observations of velocity dispersions of galactic structures over a wide range of scales point to the existence of a universal acceleration scale $a_0\sim 10^{-10}$ m/s${}^2$. Focusing on the fuzzy dark matter paradigm, which proposes ultralight dark matter with mass around $10^{-22}$ eV and de Broglie wavelength $\lambda \sim \mathrm{few}\times 10^2$ parsecs, we highlight the emergence of the observed acceleration scale from quantum effects in a fluid-like description of the dark matter dynamics. We then suggest the possibility of a natural connection between the acceleration scale and dark energy within the same paradigm.

This paper has been awarded 3rd Prize in the Gravity Research Foundation 2024 Awards for Essays on Gravitation, and is to be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMPD)