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Numerical Challenges in Modeling Gravothermal Collapse in Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos

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arxiv 2402.12452 v2 pith:5CZWDW3H submitted 2024-02-19 astro-ph.CO astro-ph.GAhep-ph

classification astro-ph.COastro-ph.GAhep-ph
keywords haloscollapsecoredarkmattermethodsnumericalsidm
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abstract

When dark matter has a large cross section for self scattering, halos can undergo a process known as gravothermal core collapse, where the inner core rapidly increases in density and temperature. To date, several methods have been used to implement Self-Interacting Dark Matter~(SIDM) in N-body codes, but there has been no systematic study of these different methods or their accuracy in the core-collapse phase. In this paper, we compare three different numerical implementations of SIDM, including the standard methods from the GIZMO and Arepo codes, by simulating idealized dwarf halos undergoing significant dark matter self interactions ($\sigma/m = 50$~cm$^2$/g). When simulating these halos, we also vary the mass resolution, time-stepping criteria, and gravitational force-softening scheme. The various SIDM methods lead to distinct differences in a halo's evolution during the core-collapse phase, as each results in spurious scattering rate differences and energy gains/losses. The use of adaptive force softening for gravity can lead to numerical heating that artificially accelerates core collapse, while an insufficiently small simulation time step can cause core evolution to stall or completely reverse. Additionally, particle numbers must be large enough to ensure that the simulated halos are not sensitive to noise in the initial conditions. Even for the highest-resolution simulations tested in this study ($10^6$ particles per halo), we find that variations of order $10\%$ in collapse time are still present. The results of this work underscore the sensitivity of SIDM modeling on the choice of numerical implementation and motivate a careful study of how these results generalize to halos in a cosmological context.

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Cited by 7 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Mergers Matter: Gravothermal Collapse in Dwarf Halos with Self-Interacting Dark Matter

    astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 7.0 of 10

    SIDM simulations of dwarf halos show that quiescent merger histories produce gravothermal core collapse while sustained mergers prevent collapse and can yield central densities below gravothermal fluid model predictions.

  2. Non-Equilibrium Relativistic Core Collapse of Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos -- Limits On Seed Black Hole Mass

    astro-ph.CO 2026-01 unverdicted novelty 7.0 of 10

    Non-equilibrium relativistic SIDM halo collapse produces seed black holes of mass ~3e-8 of the halo mass at apparent horizon formation.

  3. A Novel Implementation of Self-Interacting Dark Matter in AREPO

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 accept novelty 6.5 of 10

    A dedicated-tree Monte-Carlo SIDM module in AREPO-2 conserves energy/momentum under multiple scatters, supports velocity-dependent and inelastic models, and runs with only modest overhead versus CDM except in late cor...

  4. MARVELously Dark: the density profile evolution of dwarf halos in velocity-dependent SIDM

    astro-ph.GA 2026-01 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    In a new SIDM simulation of isolated dwarf halos, nine low-mass halos are core-collapsed, and inner density slope—rather than central density—best tracks collapse onset and matches analytic collapse-time predictions.

  5. Strong-lensing Perturber Signatures in Self-interacting Dark Matter Simulations

    astro-ph.CO 2025-10 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    Core-collapsed self-interacting dark matter halos in the Concerto simulations reach high enough central densities to match the perturbing masses inferred in J0946, B1938, SDP.81, and SPT2147-50.

  6. Bypassed Core Formation in Milky Way-Mass SIDM Halos: Implications for the Local Group Past-Pericenter Scenario

    astro-ph.GA 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 5.0 of 10

    MW-mass SIDM halos bypass core formation and enter immediate core collapse due to baryonic preconditioning, allowing the compact stellar disk and bulge to survive close pericenter passages while the diffuse halo is mo...

  7. Gravothermal Collapse: Robust Against Baryonic Feedback

    astro-ph.CO 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 4.0 of 10

    Baryonic feedback mildly delays but does not stall gravothermal collapse in high-concentration SIDM halos and allows resumption in median-concentration cases, yielding feedback-history-dependent central densities.

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