Understanding Boson Stars as Potential Dark Matter Candidates

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    Boson Stars
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of boson stars as potential candidates for dark matter, exploring their properties, theoretical underpinnings, and experimental detection methods. It includes theoretical considerations related to particle physics and cosmology.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that boson stars could be a suitable fit for dark matter due to their unique properties.
  • One participant explains that boson stars are solitonic solutions of classical nonlinear field equations, consisting of many elementary particles in a quantum coherent state, with low mass due to an attractive force contributing negatively to total energy.
  • There is a suggestion that boson stars can be understood as Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) and that they might not be detectable against the cosmic microwave background (CMB).
  • Another participant elaborates that these boson stars could be viewed as cold dark matter, with each "star" representing a galactic halo much larger than visible galaxies, and that low-mass particles condense to form BECs in galaxy halos.
  • Detection methods for these low-mass dark matter candidates are discussed, noting the challenges compared to WIMPs, with references to experimental attempts like the Axion Dark Matter Experiment.
  • It is mentioned that these candidates are theoretically compatible with CMB data, potentially explaining cold dark matter in a way that fits observations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying views on the detectability of boson stars and their relationship to the CMB, indicating that multiple competing perspectives remain on the topic.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the specific mechanisms of detection and the implications of boson stars in the context of existing dark matter theories. The discussion reflects a range of assumptions about particle properties and cosmological observations.

wolram
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Boson stars seem to be a good fit for Dark Matter.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1704.05057v1.pdf
Can you help me understand why such a huge particle with such low mass can exist, and how it could be found experimentally.
 
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Moderator's note: moving to the Beyond the Standard Model forum as the question is really about a hypothesized particle species not in the SM.
 
wolram said:
Boson stars seem to be a good fit for Dark Matter.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1704.05057v1.pdf
Can you help me understand why such a huge particle with such low mass can exist, and how it could be found experimentally.
Boson star is a solitonic solution of classical nonlinear field equations. As such, it consists of many elementary particles, or more precisely it is a quantum coherent state in which the number of particles is uncertain. The mass is low because there is an attractive force which makes a negative contribution to the total energy.
 
So it is a BEC, why is it it can not be seen against CBR?
 
wolram said:
So it is a BEC, why is it it can not be seen against CBR?
The "boson stars" are basically just cold dark matter. Each "star" is a galactic halo, each of which is much larger than a visible galaxy. The concept here is that low-mass particles make up the dark matter, and they condense to form Bose-Einstein condensates in galaxy halos. Low-mass dark matter candidates are produced in ways that ensure they have very little kinetic energy, and the leading candidate is the axion.

The way they would be detected would be by detecting the low-mass particles that make them up. This tends to be much more difficult than it is for WIMPs (which have much higher masses), but there have been some attempts (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axion_Dark_Matter_Experiment).

Edit: And yes, these candidates are perfectly compatible with the CMB, as they are a potential theoretical explanation for cold dark matter which fits the CMB data quite well.
 
Thank you very much for the answers to my questions :biggrin:
 

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