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We construct gravitational atoms including self-gravity, obtaining solutions of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon equations for a scalar field surrounding a non-rotating black hole in a quasi-stationary approximation. We resolve the region near the horizon as well as the far field region. Our results are relevant in a wide range of masses, from ultralight to MeV scalar fields and for black holes ranging from primordial to supermassive. For instance, a system with a scalar field consistent with ultralight dark matter and a black hole mass comparable to that of Sagittarius A* can be modeled. A density spike near the event horizon, although present, is negligible, contrasting with the prediction in [P. Gondolo and Silk, Phys. Rev. Lett., 83:1719-1722, 1999] for cold dark matter., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures

It is shown that the data from the orbital period decay of binary pulsars give strong constraints on the dark matter-nucleons cross section. The limits are robust and competitive because this new method for testing dark matter interactions with standard model particles has a minimal number of assumptions combined with the extremely high accuracy on the measurement of the decay rate of the orbital period of binary systems. Our results exclude (with 95% confidence) spin independent interactions with cross sections greater that 3.1x10-31 cm2 for a dark matter particle with mass mc2 = 1 keV and 3.7x10-31 cm2 for mc2= 1 TeV which improves by several orders of magnitude previous constraints., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure

Today it is understood that our universe would not be the same without dark matter, which apparently has given rise to the formation of galaxies, stars and planets. Its existence is inferred mainly from the gravitational effect on the rotation curves of stars in spiral galaxies. The nature of dark matter remains unknown. Here we show that the dark matter halo is in a state of Bose-Einstein condensation, or at least the central region is. By using fittings of observational data, we can put an upper bound on the dark matter particle mass in the order of $12~\,eV/c^2$. We present the temperature profiles of galactic dark matter halos by considering that dark matter can be treated as a classical ideal gas, as an ideal Fermi gas, or as an ideal Bose gas. The only free parameter in the matter model is the mass of the dark matter particle. We obtain the temperature profiles by using the rotational velocity profile proposed by Persic, Salucci, and Stel (1996) and assuming that the dark matter halo is a self-gravitating stand-alone structure. From the temperature profiles, we conclude that the classical ideal gas and the ideal Fermi gas are not viable explanations for dark matter, while the ideal Bose gas is if the mass of the particle is low enough. If we take into account the relationship presented by Kormendy and Freeman (2004, 2016), Donato et al. (2009) and Gentile et al. (2009) between central density and core radius then we conclude that the central temperature of dark matter in all galaxies is the same. Remarkably, our results imply that basics thermodynamics principles could shed light on the mysterious nature of dark matter and if this is the case, those principles have to been taken into account in its description., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures

Using Low Brightness Surface Galaxies (LBSG) rotational curves we inferred the free parameters of $\ell$-boson stars as a dark matter component. The $\ell$-boson stars are numerical solutions to the non-relativistic limit of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system, the Schr\"odinger-Poisson (SP) system. These solutions are parametrized by an angular momentum number $\ell = (N-1)/2$ and an excitation number $n$. We perform a bayesian analysis by modifying the SimpleMC code to perform the parameter inference, for the cases with $\ell = 0$, $\ell = 1$ and multi-states of $\ell$-boson stars. We used the Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion and the Bayes factor to compare the excited state ($\ell$=1) and the multi-state case with the ground state ($\ell$=0) as the base model due to its simplicity. We found that the data in most galaxies in the sample favours the multi-states case and that the scalar field mass tends to be slightly bigger than the ground state case., Comment: 18 pages, 10 Figures; matches the version published in JCAP

We construct boson star configurations in quantum field theory using the semiclassical gravity approximation. Restricting our attention to the static case, we show that the semiclassical Einstein-Klein-Gordon system for a {\it single real quantum} scalar field whose state describes the excitation of $N$ {\it identical particles}, each one corresponding to a given energy level, can be reduced to the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system for $N$ {\it complex classical} scalar fields. Particular consideration is given to the spherically symmetric static scenario, where energy levels are labeled by quantum numbers $n$, $\ell$ and $m$. When all particles are accommodated in the ground state $n=\ell=m=0$, one recovers the standard static boson star solutions, that can be excited if $n\neq 0$. On the other hand, for the case where all particles have fixed radial and total angular momentum numbers $n$ and $\ell$, with $\ell\neq 0$, but are homogeneously distributed with respect to their magnetic number $m$, one obtains the $\ell$-boson stars, whereas when $\ell=m=0$ and $n$ takes multiple values, the multi-state boson star solutions are obtained. Further generalizations of these configurations are presented, including the multi-$\ell$ multi-state boson stars, that constitute the most general solutions to the $N$-particle, static, spherically symmetric, semiclassical real Einstein-Klein-Gordon system, in which the total number of particles is definite. In spite of the fact that the same spacetime configurations also appear in multi-field classical theories, in semiclassical gravity they arise naturally as the quantum fluctuations associated with the state of a single field describing a many-body system. Our results could have potential impact on direct detection experiments in the context of ultralight scalar field/fuzzy dark matter candidates., Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables. To appear in Phys. Rev. D

Long-lived configurations of massive scalar fields around black holes may form if the coupling between the mass of the scalar field and the mass of the black hole is very small. In this work we analyze the effect of self-interaction in the distribution of the long-lived cloud surrounding a static black hole. We consider both attractive and repulsive self-interactions. By solving numerically the Klein Gordon equation on a fixed background in the frequency domain, we find that the spatial distribution of quasi stationary states may be larger as compared to the non interacting case. We performed a time evolution to determine the effect of the self-interaction on the life time of the configurations our findings indicate that the contribution of the self-interaction is subdominant., Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures

Fully non-linear numerical evolutions of the Einstein-(multi)--Klein-Gordon equations are performed to study head-on collisions of $\ell$-boson stars. Despite being spherically symmetric, $\ell$-boson stars have a (hidden) frame of reference, used in defining their individual multipolar fields. To assess the impact of their relative orientation, we perform simulations with different angles between the axes of the two colliding stars. Additionally, two scenarios are considered for the colliding stars: that they are composites of either the same or different scalar fields. Despite some model-specific behaviours, the simulations generically indicate that: 1) the collision of two sufficiently (and equally) massive stars leads to black hole formation; 2) below a certain mass threshold the end result of the evolution is a bound state of the composite scalar fields, that neither disperses nor collapses into a black hole within the simulation time; 3) this end product (generically) deviates from spherical symmetry and the equipartition of the number of bosonic particles between the different scalar fields composing the initial boson stars is lost, albeit not dramatically. This last observation indicates, albeit without being conclusive, that the end result of these collisions belongs to the previously reported larger family of equilibrium multi-field boson stars, generically non-spherical, and of which $\ell$-boson stars are a symmetry enhanced point. We also extract and discuss the waveforms from the collisions studied., Comment: 23 pages. Updated version with broader discussion, typos corrected and new analyses and figures

Low surface brightness galaxies are an excellent laboratory where stars and baryonic matter act as tracers of the gravitational potential of the dark matter halo. If dark matter is modeled as a perfect fluid, then spherically symmetric and static dark matter halos in hydrostatic equilibrium demand that dark matter should have an intrinsic pressure that counteracts the gravitational attraction that the dark matter halo exerts on itself. This static fluid (dark matter-dominated system, where the presence of baryons is negligible) has a specific equation of state for each rotational velocity profile of the stars in galaxies. In this work, we study the dark matter equation of state needed for the self-gravitating object to produce a gravitational potential such that the tracers follow the Universal Rotational Velocity Profile for stars of spiral galaxies proposed by Persic et al. (1996) and analyze the properties of the self-gravitating structures that emerge from this equation of state.The resulting configurations explaining the observed rotational speeds are found to be unstable. We conclude that the halo is not in hydrostatic equilibrium, it is nonspherically symmetric, or it is not static if the universal velocity profile should be valid for fitting the rotational velocity curve of the galaxies., Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables. Published in The Astrophysical Journal

A new class of complex scalar field objects, which generalize the well known boson stars, was recently found as solutions to the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system. The generalization consists in incorporating some of the effects of angular momentum, while still maintaining the spacetime's spherical symmetry. These new solutions depend on an (integer) angular parameter $\ell$, and hence were named $\ell$-boson stars. Like the standard $\ell=0$ boson stars these configurations admit a stable branch in the solution space; however, contrary to them they have a morphology that presents a shell-like structure with a "hole" in the internal region. In this article we perform a thorough exploration of the parameter space, concentrating particularly on the extreme cases with large values of $\ell$. We show that the shells grow in size with the angular parameter, doing so linearly for large values, with the size growing faster than the thickness. Their mass also increases with $\ell$, but in such a way that their compactness, while also growing monotonically, converges to a finite value corresponding to about one half of the Buchdahl limit for stable configurations. Furthermore, we show that $\ell$-boson stars can be highly anisotropic, with the radial pressure diminishing relative to the tangential pressure for large $\ell$, reducing asymptotically to zero, and with the maximum density also approaching zero. We show that these properties can be understood by analyzing the asymptotic limit $\ell\rightarrow\infty$ of the field equations and their solutions. We also analyze the existence and characteristics of both timelike and null circular orbits, especially for very compact solutions., Comment: 22 pages. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity - (Focus Issue on Bosonic Stars)

In previous work we constructed new boson star solutions consisting of a family of massive complex scalar fields minimally coupled to gravity in which the individual fields have angular momentum, yet the configuration as a whole is static and spherically symmetric. In the present article we study the linear stability of these $\ell$-boson stars with respect to time-dependent, radial perturbations. The pulsation equations, governing the dynamics of such perturbations are derived, generalizing previous work initiated by M. Gleiser, and shown to give rise to a two-channel Schr\"odinger operator. Using standard tools from the literature, we show that for each fixed value $\ell$ of the angular momentum number, there exists a family of $\ell$-boson stars which are linearly stable with respect to radial fluctuations; in this case the perturbations oscillate in time with given characteristic frequencies which are computed and compared with the results from a nonlinear numerical simulation. Further, there is also a family of $\ell$-boson stars which are linearly unstable. The two families are separated by the configuration with maximum mass. These results are qualitatively similar to the corresponding stability results of the standard boson stars with $\ell=0$, and they imply the existence of new stable configurations that are more massive and compact than usual boson stars., Comment: 23, pages, 8 figures

$\ell$-boson stars are static, spherical, multi-field self-gravitating solitons. They are asymptotically flat, finite energy solutions of Einstein's gravity minimally coupled to an odd number of massive, complex scalar fields. A previous study assessed the stability of $\ell$-boson stars under spherical perturbations, finding that there are both stable and unstable branches of solutions, as for single-field boson stars ($\ell=0$). In this work we probe the stability of $\ell$-boson stars against non-spherical perturbations by performing numerical evolutions of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system, with a 3D code. For the timescales explored, the $\ell$-boson stars belonging to the spherical stable branch do not exhibit measurable growing modes. We find, however, evidence of zero modes; that is, non-spherical perturbations that neither grow nor decay. This suggests the branching off towards a larger family of equilibrium solutions: we conjecture that $\ell$-boson stars are the enhanced isometry point of a larger family of static (and possibly stationary), non-spherical multi-field self-gravitating solitons., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

In previous work, we have found new static, spherically symmetric boson star solutions which generalize the standard boson stars by allowing a particular superposition of scalar fields in which each of the fields is characterized by a fixed value of its non-vanishing angular momentum number $\ell$. We call such solutions "$\ell$-boson stars". Here, we perform a series of fully non-linear dynamical simulations of perturbed $\ell$-boson stars in order to study their stability, and the final fate of unstable configurations. We show that for each value of $\ell$, the configuration of maximum mass separates the parameter space into stable and unstable regions. Stable configurations, when perturbed, oscillate around the unperturbed solution and very slowly return to a stationary configuration. Unstable configurations, in contrast, can have three different final states: collapse to a black hole, migration to the stable branch, or explosion (dissipation) to infinity. Just as it happens with $\ell=0$ boson stars, migration to the stable branch or dissipation to infinity depends on the sign of the total binding energy of the star: bound unstable stars collapse to black holes or migrate to the stable branch, whereas unbound unstable stars either collapse to a black hole or explode to infinity. Thus, the parameter $\ell$ allows us to construct a new set of stable configurations. All our simulations are performed in spherical symmetry, leaving a more detailed stability analysis including non-spherical perturbations for future work., Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure. Updated version with more details on migrating case, typos corrected and references added

We present new, fully nonlinear numerical solutions to the static, spherically symmetric Einstein-Klein-Gordon system for a collection of an arbitrary odd number $N$ of complex scalar fields with an internal $U(N)$ symmetry and no self-interactions. These solutions, which we dub $\ell$-boson stars, are parametrized by an angular momentum number $\ell=(N-1)/2$, an excitation number $n$, and a continuous parameter representing the amplitude of the fields. They are regular at every point and possess a finite total mass. For $\ell = 0$ the standard spherically symmetric boson stars are recovered. We determine their generalizations for $\ell > 0$, and show that they give rise to a large class of new static configurations which might have a much larger compactness ratio than $\ell=0$ stars., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. To appear as a Letter in Classical and Quantum Gravity

The future detection and measurement of the diffuse neutrino supernova background will shed light on the rate of supernovae events in the Universe, the star formation rate and the neutrino spectrum from each supernova. Little has been said about what those measurements will tell us about the expansion history of the universe. The purpose of this article is to show that the detection of the diffuse supernova neutrino background will be a complementary tool for the study and possible discrimination of cosmological models. In particular, we study three different cosmological models: the $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter model, the Logotropic universe and a bulk viscous matter-dominated universe. By fitting the free parameters of each model with the supernova Ia probe, we found that the predicted number of events computed with the best fit parameters for the $\Lambda$-Cold dark matter model and with the Logotropic model are the same, while a bulk viscous matter-dominated cosmological model predicts $\sim 3$ times more events. We show that the current limit set by Super-Kamiokande on the diffuse supernova neutrino background flux gives complementary constraints on the free parameters of a bulk viscous matter-dominated universe. Furthermore, this limit implies, within a $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter model, that the universe should be expanding with $H_0 > 21.5 ~\rm{Km/sec/Mpc}$ independently of the content of dark matter $\Omega_m$., Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures

It has long been known that no static, spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat Klein-Gordon scalar field configuration surrounding a nonrotating black hole can exist in general relativity. In a series of previous papers we proved that, at the effective level, this no-hair theorem can be circumvented by relaxing the staticity assumption: for appropriate model parameters there are quasi-bound scalar field configurations living on a fixed Schwarzschild background which, although not being strictly static, have a larger lifetime than the age of the universe. This situation arises when the mass of the scalar field distribution is much smaller than the black hole mass, and following the analogies with the hair in the literature we dubbed these long-lived field configurations wigs. Here we extend our previous work to include the gravitational backreaction produced by the scalar wigs. We derive new approximate solutions of the spherically symmetric Einstein-Klein-Gordon system which represent self-gravitating scalar wigs surrounding black holes. These configurations interpolate between boson star configurations and Schwarzschild black holes dressed with the long-lived scalar test field distributions discussed in previous papers. Nonlinear numerical evolutions of initial data sets extracted from our approximate solutions support the validity of our approach. Arbitrarily large lifetimes are still possible, although for the parameter space that we analyze in this paper they seem to decay faster than the quasi-bound states. Finally, we speculate about the possibility that these configurations could describe the innermost regions of dark matter halos., Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, 1 table

Using the Green's function representation technique, the late time behavior of localized scalar field distributions on Schwarzschild spacetimes is studied. Assuming arbitrary initial data we perform a spectral analysis, computing the amplitude of each excited quasi-bound mode without the necessity of performing dynamical evolutions. The resulting superposition of modes is compared with a traditional numerical evolution with excellent agreement; therefore, we have an efficient way to determine final black hole wigs. The astrophysical relevance of the quasi-bound modes is discussed in the context of scalar field dark matter models and the axiverse., Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

In this work we model galactic halos describing the dark matter as a non zero pressure fluid and derive, not impose, a dark matter equation of state by using observational data of the rotation curves of galaxies. In order to reach hydrostatic equilibrium, as expected for the halo, it is mandatory that dark fluid's pressure should not be zero. The equation of state is obtained by solving the matter-geometry system of equations assuming different dark matter density or rotational velocity profiles. The resulting equations of state are, in general, different to a barotropic equation of state. The free parameters of the equation of state are fixed by fitting the observed rotational velocities of a set of galaxies., Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures. Improved analysis. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We study the evolution of a massive scalar field surrounding a Schwarzschild black hole and find configurations that can survive for arbitrarily long times, provided the black hole or the scalar field mass is small enough. In particular, both ultra-light scalar field dark matter around supermassive black holes and axion-like scalar fields around primordial black holes can survive for cosmological times. Moreover, these results are quite generic, in the sense that fairly arbitrary initial data evolves, at late times, as a combination of those long-lived configurations., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

We consider the hypothesis that galactic dark matter is composed of ultra-light scalar particles and use internal properties of dwarf spheroidal galaxies to establish a preferred range for the mass m of these bosonic particles. We re-investigate the problem of the longevity of the cold clump in Ursa Minor and the problem of the rapid orbital decay of the globular clusters in Fornax and dwarf ellipticals. Treating the scalar field halo as a rigid background gravitational potential and using N-body simulations, we have explored how the dissolution timescale of the cold clump in Ursa Minor depends on m. It is demonstrated that for masses in the range 0.3x10^-22 eV < m <1x10^-22 eV, scalar field dark halos without self-interaction would have cores large enough to explain the longevity of the cold clump in Ursa Minor and the wide distribution of globular clusters in Fornax, but small enough to make the mass of the dark halos compatible with dynamical limits. It is encouraging to see that this interval of m is consistent with that needed to suppress the overproduction of substructure in galactic halos and is compatible with the acoustic peaks of cosmic microwave radiation. On the other hand, for self-interacting scalar fields with coupling constant l, values of m^4/l <= 0.55x10^3 eV^4 are required to account for the properties of the dark halos of these dwarf spheroidal galaxies., Comment: Accepted for publication in JCAP. Discussion about dynamical friction expanded, new explanatory figures added. Conclusions unchanged

Classical scalar fields have been proposed as possible candidates for the dark matter component of the universe. Given the fact that super-massive black holes seem to exist at the center of most galaxies, in order to be a viable candidate for the dark matter halo a scalar field configuration should be stable in the presence of a central black hole, or at least be able to survive for cosmological time-scales. In the present work we consider a scalar field as a test field on a Schwarzschild background, and study under which conditions one can obtain long-lived configurations. We present a detailed study of the Klein-Gordon equation in the Schwarzschild spacetime, both from an analytical and numerical point of view, and show that indeed there exist quasi-stationary solutions that can remain surrounding a black hole for large time-scales., Comment: 34 pages, 13 figures

The existence and detection of scalar fields could provide solutions to long-standing puzzles about the nature of dark matter, the dark compact objects at the centre of most galaxies, and other phenomena. Yet, self-interacting scalar fields are very poorly constrained by astronomical observations, leading to great uncertainties in estimates of the mass $m_\phi$ and the self-interacting coupling constant $\lambda$ of these fields. To counter this, we have systematically employed available astronomical observations to develop new constraints, considerably restricting this parameter space. In particular, by exploiting precise observations of stellar dynamics at the centre of our Galaxy and assuming that these dynamics can be explained by a single boson star, we determine an upper limit for the boson star compactness and impose significant limits on the values of the properties of possible scalar fields. Requiring the scalar field particle to follow a collisional dark matter model further narrows these constraints. Most importantly, we find that if a scalar dark matter particle does exist, then it cannot account for both the dark-matter halos and the existence of dark compact objects in galactic nuclei, Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication by JCAP after minor changes

We study in detail the properties of gravitationally-bounded multi-state configurations, made of spin-zero bosons, in the Newtonian regime. We show that the properties of such configurations, in particular their stability, depend upon how the particles are distributed in the different states they are composed of. Numerical techniques are used to distinguish between stable and unstable solutions, and to determine the final configurations they evolve towards to. Multi-state equilibrium configurations can be used as models of galactic halos made of scalar field dark matter, whose rotation curves appear more realistic than in the case of single-state configurations., Comment: 14 pages, 22 figures

Motivated by the increasing interest in models which consider scalar fields as viable dark matter candidates, we have constructed a generalization of relativistic Boson Stars (BS) composed of two coexisting states of the scalar field, the ground state and the first excited state. We have studied the dynamical evolution of these Multi-state Boson Stars (MSBS) under radial perturbations, using numerical techniques. We show that stable MSBS can be constructed, when the number of particles in the first excited state, N2, is smaller than the number of particles in the ground state, N1. On the other hand, when N2 > N1, the configurations are initially unstable. However, they evolve and settle down into stable configurations. In the stabilization process, the initially ground state is excited and ends in a first excited state, whereas the initially first excited state ends in a ground state. During this process, both states emit scalar field radiation, decreasing their number of particles. This behavior shows that even though BS in the first excited state are intrinsically unstable under finite perturbations, the configuration resulting from the combination of this state with the ground state produces stable objects. Finally we show in a qualitative way, that stable MSBS could be realistic models of dark matter galactic halos, as they produce rotation curves that are flatter at large radii than the rotation curves produced by BS with only one state., Comment: 14 pages. Extended discussion and new figures added. Conclusions unchanged. Accepted for publication in Physical Review D

In this manuscript we track the evolution of a system consisting of two self-gravitating virialized objects made of a scalar field in the newtonian limit. The Schr\"odinger-Poisson system contains a potential with self-interaction of the Gross-Pitaevskii type for Bose Condensates. Our results indicate that solitonic behavior is allowed in the scalar field dark matter model when the total energy of the system is positive, that is, the two blobs pass through each other as should happen for solitons; on the other hand, there is a true collision of the two blobs when the total energy is negative., Comment: 8 revtex pages, 11 eps figures. v2 matches the published version. v2=v1+ref+minor_changes

We show the evolution of non-spherically symmetric balls of a self-gravitating scalar field in the Newtonian regime or equivalently an ideal self-gravitating condensed Bose gas. In order to do so, we use a finite differencing approximation of the Shcr\"odinger-Poisson (SP) system of equations with axial symmetry in cylindrical coordinates. Our results indicate: 1) that spherically symmetric ground state equilibrium configurations are stable against non-spherical perturbations and 2) that such configurations of the SP system are late-time attractors for non-spherically symmetric initial profiles of the scalar field, which is a generalization of such behavior for spherically symmetric initial profiles. Our system and the boundary conditions used, work as a model of scalar field dark matter collapse after the turnaround point. In such case, we have found that the scalar field overdensities tolerate non-spherical contributions to the profile of the initial fluctuation., Comment: 8 revtex pages, 10 eps figures. Accepted for publication in PRD

The scalar field endowed with a cosh scalar field potential, behaves exactly in the same way as cold dark matter (CDM) in the region where the scalar field oscillates around its minimum. Also, in the linear regime, the scalar field dark matter (SFDM) hypothesis predicts the same structure formation as the cold dark matter one. This means that CDM and SFDM are equivalent from the cosmological point of view. The free parameters of the SFDM model can be fixed using cosmological observations. In a previous work, we showed by solving the Einstein Klein Gordon equations, that if we use such parameters, the scalar field collapses forming stable objects with a mass around $10^{12}M_{\odot}$. In the present work we use analytical solutions of the flat and weak field limit of the Einstein- Klein-Gordon equations. With this solutions we show that its scalar field density profile corresponds to a halo with an almost flat central density and that this halo coincides with the CDM model in a large outer region. Such a result could solve the problem of the cusp DM halo in galaxies without extra hypothesis, adding to the viability of the SFDM model. Thus, the SFDM model can be seen as an alternative model to the CDM one, with a self interacting WIMP., Comment: 12 pages and 16 figures, minor changes in main text to match the accepted version for RevMexAA publication