The Vortex State of Ultralight Dark Matter and the Fornax Timing Problem

2026/01/30 by V. Gorkavenko, O. Barabash, O. V. Barabash +9
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph.GA

paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/universe12020039

published as Universe 12.2, p.39 (2026) · 14 pages, 4 figures

openalex publication_date 2026/01/30 · openalex created_date 2026/02/01 · arxiv created 2026/07/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01 · arxiv updated 2026/08/04

Abstract

We investigate the impact of the vortex state of ultralight dark matter (ULDM) on the dynamical friction acting on moving globular clusters. Comparing this force with that for the solitonic ground state, it is shown that the internal structure and rotation of the ULDM core strongly affect the orbital decay of globular clusters. In particular, co-directional rotation in a vortex state can lead to significant suppression of dynamic friction at certain distances where globular clusters and ULDM velocities match. Applying these findings to the Fornax dwarf galaxy, it is found that the Fornax timing problem is naturally alleviated.

Citations

• Damping of dynamical friction force in self-interacting ultralight dark matter and Fornax timing problem
• Fuzzy dark matter simulations
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• Analytic calculation of dynamical friction for Plummer sphere in ultralight dark matter
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• Dynamical friction in dark matter superfluids: The evolution of black hole binaries
• Ultra-light dark matter
• Quantum Aspects of Black Holes