Lyman-alpha forest data yield m_FDM > 1.9e-21 eV (95% CL) for pure FDM and f_FDM upper limits of 0.07-0.65 for mixed FDM at log10(m_FDM/eV) = -23 to -21.
Lyman-$\alpha$ Forest Signatures of Mixed Fuzzy and Cold Dark Matter
3 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
abstract
We investigate Lyman-alpha forest flux statistics in mixed fuzzy dark matter (FDM) and cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies using the Fluctuating Gunn-Peterson Approximation (FGPA) applied to hybrid Schr\"odinger-Poisson and N-body simulations. We evolve the dark matter distribution from z = 120 to z = 2 for an axion mass ( m_22 = 0.01) and FDM fraction (f_A = 0.1), and compare two realizations with identical initial conditions: one evolved with a particle-only approximation and one with full wave--mechanical dynamics. We find that, despite near-degeneracy in the nonlinear matter power spectrum, the corresponding Ly {\alpha} flux power spectra differ at the 10 percent level on intermediate scales. This discrepancy arises from a strong suppression of small-scale velocity power in the Schr\"odinger--Poisson evolution, which is not captured by N-body treatments with matched initial transfer functions. As a result, the flux statistics cannot be fully characterized by the matter power spectrum alone, but depend sensitively on the dynamical evolution of the velocity field. These results demonstrate that wave-mechanical effects in FDM leave distinct kinematic imprints in Ly {\alpha} observables beyond those associated with initial-condition suppression. While our analysis is based on an idealized FGPA framework, it isolates a mechanism by which mixed dark matter models can break degeneracies present in standard structure-based probes, motivating further investigation with full hydrodynamical simulations.
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astro-ph.CO 3years
2026 3verdicts
UNVERDICTED 3representative citing papers
Simulations show fuzzy dark matter fraction up to 0.3 suppresses low-mass halos in mixed DM models, and a redshift- and fraction-dependent suppression function maps CDM HMFs to MDM HMFs within 0.1-0.2 dex accuracy for z=1-4.
New upper limits on ultralight axion dark matter fraction (<1.5% at 10^{-26} eV, <9% at 10^{-25} eV at 95% CL) from combined CMB lensing data, plus marginal 2.1σ preference at 10^{-24.5} eV driven by few points.
citing papers explorer
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Lyman-$\alpha$ forest constraints on pure and mixed fuzzy dark matter
Lyman-alpha forest data yield m_FDM > 1.9e-21 eV (95% CL) for pure FDM and f_FDM upper limits of 0.07-0.65 for mixed FDM at log10(m_FDM/eV) = -23 to -21.
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Halo mass functions in mixed cold and fuzzy dark matter models
Simulations show fuzzy dark matter fraction up to 0.3 suppresses low-mass halos in mixed DM models, and a redshift- and fraction-dependent suppression function maps CDM HMFs to MDM HMFs within 0.1-0.2 dex accuracy for z=1-4.
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The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Probing new signatures of ultralight axions with gravitational lensing
New upper limits on ultralight axion dark matter fraction (<1.5% at 10^{-26} eV, <9% at 10^{-25} eV at 95% CL) from combined CMB lensing data, plus marginal 2.1σ preference at 10^{-24.5} eV driven by few points.