Bose-Einstein Condensation of Dark Matter Axions

2009/01/31 by P. Sikivie, Q. Yang, Qiaoli Yang · 10 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics #Axion #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Cold dark matter #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark energy #Dark fluid #Dark matter #Hot dark matter #Mixed dark matter #Particle physics #Physics #Scalar field dark matter #astro-ph.CO #cond-mat.stat-mech #hep-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.103.111301

published as Phys.Rev.Lett.103:111301,2009 · 4 pages. Three typos are corrected. Version to be published by Physical Review Letters

arxiv created 2009/09/02 · openalex publication_date 2009/09/09 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We show that cold dark matter axions thermalize and form a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). We obtain the axion state in a homogeneous and isotropic universe, and derive the equations governing small axion perturbations. Because they form a BEC, axions differ from ordinary cold dark matter in the nonlinear regime of structure formation and upon entering the horizon. Axion BEC provides a mechanism for the production of net overall rotation in dark matter halos, and for the alignment of cosmic microwave anisotropy multipoles.

Citations

• A simple solution to the strong CP problem with a harmless axion
• Origin of the Angular Momentum of Galaxies
• Caustic ring model of the Milky Way halo
• High resolution foreground cleaned CMB map from WMAP
• On the large-angle anomalies of the microwave sky
• Strong acoustic turbulence and the speed of Bose-Einstein condensation
• Inner caustics of cold dark matter halos

Cited by

• Boson dark matter halos with a dominant noncondensed component
• Unrivaled quantum vacuum in the primordial universe
• Real scalar field, the nonrelativistic limit, and the cosmological expansion
• Geometric optics in the presence of axionlike particles in curved spacetime
• Dark Matter Superfluidity
• Relaxation times for Bose-Einstein condensation in axion miniclusters
• Axion-like particle searches with MeerKAT and SKA
• Constraining condensate dark matter in galaxy clusters
• Axion as a Cold Dark Matter Candidate: Proof to Fully Nonlinear Order
• Proposal for Axion Dark Matter Detection Using anLCCircuit