Decay of ultralight axion condensates

J Eby, M Ma, P Suranyi, LCR Wijewardhana - Journal of High Energy …, 2018 - Springer
J Eby, M Ma, P Suranyi, LCR Wijewardhana
Journal of High Energy Physics, 2018Springer
A bstract Axion particles can form macroscopic condensates, whose size can be galactic in
scale for models with very small axion masses m∼ 10− 22 eV, and which are sometimes
referred to under the name of Fuzzy Dark Matter. Many analyses of these condensates are
done in the non-interacting limit, due to the weakness of the self-interaction coupling of
axions. We investigate here how certain results change upon inclusion of these interactions,
finding a decreased maximum mass and a modified mass-radius relationship. Further, these …
Abstract
Axion particles can form macroscopic condensates, whose size can be galactic in scale for models with very small axion masses m∼ 10− 22 eV, and which are sometimes referred to under the name of Fuzzy Dark Matter. Many analyses of these condensates are done in the non-interacting limit, due to the weakness of the self-interaction coupling of axions. We investigate here how certain results change upon inclusion of these interactions, finding a decreased maximum mass and a modified mass-radius relationship. Further, these condensates are, in general, unstable to decay through number-changing interactions. We analyze the stability of galaxy-sized condensates of axion-like particles, and sketch the parameter space of stable configurations as a function of a binding energy parameter. We find a strong lower bound on the size of Fuzzy Dark Matter condensates which are stable to decay, with lifetimes longer than the age of the universe.
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