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Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos and the Gravothermal Catastrophe

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arxiv astro-ph/0110561 v2 pith:S6VBCV3P submitted 2001-10-26 astro-ph gr-qc

Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos and the Gravothermal Catastrophe

classification astro-ph gr-qc
keywords corehalogravothermalsidmdarkdensityevolutionlonger
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
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We study the evolution of an isolated, spherical halo of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) in the gravothermal fluid formalism. We show that the thermal relaxation time, $t_r$, of a SIDM halo with a central density and velocity dispersion of a typical dwarf galaxy is significantly shorter than its age. We find a self-similar solution for the evolution of a SIDM halo in the limit where the mean free path between collisions, $\lambda$, is everywhere longer than the gravitational scale height, $H$. Typical halos formed in this long mean free path regime relax to a quasistationary gravothermal density profile characterized by a nearly homogeneous core and a power-law halo where $\rho \propto r^{-2.19}$. We solve the more general time-dependent problem and show that the contracting core evolves to sufficiently high density that $\lambda$ inevitably becomes smaller than $H$ in the innermost region. The core undergoes secular collapse to a singular state (the ``gravothermal catastrophe'') in a time $t_{coll} \approx 290 t_r$, which is longer than the Hubble time for a typical dark matter-dominated galaxy core at the present epoch. Our model calculations are consistent with previous, more detailed, N-body simulations for SIDM, providing a simple physical interpretation of their results and extending them to higher spatial resolution and longer evolution times. At late times, mass loss from the contracting, dense inner core to the ambient halo is significantly moderated, so that the final mass of the inner core may be appreciable when it becomes relativistic and radially unstable to dynamical collapse to a black hole.

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Forward citations

Cited by 15 Pith papers

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

  1. Dark Matter in Draco and Bo\"otes I: Hints of a Core in an Ultra-Faint Dwarf from Simulation-Based Inference

    astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    GraphNPE recovers a significantly lower central density for Boötes I consistent with a core while Draco remains marginally cuspy, and demonstrates that higher-order velocity moments reduce bias in dynamical modeling.

  2. Cooling, conduction, compact objects: Gravothermal evolution of dissipative self-interacting dark matter halos

    astro-ph.CO 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Dissipation in SIDM halos inverts heat conduction, suppresses isothermal cores, and explains an observed strong lens perturber with smaller cross sections or shorter times than the elastic case.

  3. 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

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

  4. Role of prompt cusps in driving the core collapse of SIDM halos

    astro-ph.GA 2025-11 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Prompt cusps delay core formation by a factor of ~2 in SIDM halos but later collapse tracks align after rescaling, with ~5% late-stage deviations depending on concentration and outer velocity dispersion.

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

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 accept novelty 6.5

    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...

  6. Dynamical flattening of halo density cusps by Q-ball dark matter

    hep-ph 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.0

    Interacting Q-ball dark matter flattens NFW cusps via density-dependent mergers that convert rest mass into escaping relativistic dark-sector particles, preferentially in halo centers.

  7. The diffraction-lensing interpretation of GW231123 with astrophysical priors

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.0

    GW231123 is better fit by a lower-mass merger diffracted by an isolated ~1000 M_sun lens, but astrophysical priors and a frequentist rate estimate make this lensing interpretation unlikely.

  8. Vortex-reconnection energy bounds in Bose-Einstein-condensed and superfluid dark matter halos

    astro-ph.GA 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.0

    Vortex reconnections in BEC/superfluid dark matter halos produce dark-sector heating at a rate that is secular but sub-virial for relaxed non-interacting soliton cores, with the dominant uncertainty being the true vor...

  9. Self-interacting dark matter promotes bar formation in disk galaxies

    astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    SIDM halos accelerate bar formation and growth in disk galaxies through enhanced angular momentum exchange, independent of core formation.

  10. Learning the Universe with PRFM-vol: Introducing a new subgrid model for star formation in cosmological simulations

    astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    PRFM-vol is a new subgrid star formation model for cosmological simulations that computes SFR from ambient densities via PRFM theory and a modified effective EOS, producing taller stellar scale heights, slightly highe...

  11. SIDM and CDM interpretations of the million-solar-mass lensing perturber JVAS B1938+666-$\mathcal{V}$

    astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 5.0

    SIDM core-collapse simulations produce a dense central core matching the lensing perturber, while CDM requires an IMBH with extreme tidal mass loss whose realism is left open.

  12. Self-interacting dark matter and core formation in field low-surface-brightness galaxies

    astro-ph.CO 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 5.0

    Order-of-magnitude estimates exclude a self-interaction cross section of 1 cm²/g for dark matter in isolated low-surface-brightness galaxies while favoring 0.1 cm²/g.

  13. 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

    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...

  14. Spherically Symmetric Fluid Simulations of Black Hole Accretion in Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 unverdicted novelty 4.0

    1D hydrodynamic simulations find that SIDM heat transport competes with gravity to regulate black hole accretion, enabling rapid growth in SIS profiles up to 10,000 solar masses from a 100 solar mass seed in 2 Myr.

  15. Gravothermal Collapse: Robust Against Baryonic Feedback

    astro-ph.CO 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 4.0

    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.