Novel effects in self-interacting scalar field dark matter solitons

More than five-sixths of the matter in the universe is dark matter, a substance which cannot be seen and which interacts with other particles almost entirely through gravity. The identity of the dark matter is a longstanding open question. A class of models known as scalar field dark matter (SFDM) are exciting dark matter candidates that share common properties including the formation of solitons in the cores of dark matter halos. Solitons are energetically stable, gravitationally bound states of an extremely large number of SFDM particles that are the solutions to the classical equations of motion for SFDM, and in this work we present results of studies into their properties. We investigate the ability of solitons to emerge from virialized initial conditions in dark matter halos through kinetic relaxation and calculate the timescales associated with this process. We simulate rotating solitons which develop a unique vortex structure and study conditions under which the vortices can remain stable. We also explore models of SFDM which are expanded to include multiple species with both gravitational and non-gravitational inter-species interactions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physics

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Mirasola, Anthony E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kirkpatrick, Kay
• Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda
• Shelton, Jessie
• Adshead, Peter

• Axion
• Dark Matter
• Scalar Field
• Field Theory
• Cosmology
• Particle Physics
• Beyond Standard Model
• Gross Pitaevskii Equation
• Vortex

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Anthony E. Mirasola

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129963

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F129963