Theory and phenomenology of stressed wave-dark-matter soliton

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for understanding the collective excitations and breathing modes of wave dark matter solitons in galactic halos, validated by simulations and revealing insights into their nonlinear dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a variational principle and a quasi-linear model to analyze soliton excitations and breathing, aligning well with simulation results and advancing understanding of wave dark matter behavior.

Findings

Predicted excitation frequencies match simulation data.

Soliton breathing persists near breakup with moderate perturbation amplitudes.

The quasi-linear model accurately predicts nonlinear frequency shifts.

Abstract

Soliton in the hostile turbulent wave dark matter ($\Psi$DM) halo of a galaxy agitates with various kinds of excitation, and the soliton even breathes heavily under great stress. A theory of collective excitation for a $\Psi$DM soliton is presented. The collective excitation has different degrees of coupling to negative energy modes, where lower-order excitation generally necessitates more negative energy coupling. A constrained variational principle is developed to assess the frequencies and mode structures of small-amplitude perturbations. The predicted frequencies are in good agreement with those found in simulations. Soliton breathing at amplitudes on the verge of breakup is also a highlight of this work. Even in this extreme nonlinear regime, the wave function perturbation amplitudes are moderate. The simulation data shows a stable oscillation with frequency weakly dependent on the oscillation amplitude, and hints a self-consistent quasi-linear model for the wave function that accounts for modifications in the ground state wave function and the equilibrium density. The mock solution, constructed from the simulation data, can shed lights on the dynamics of the large-amplitude breathing soliton and supports the quasi-linear model, as evidenced by its ability to well predict the nonlinear eigenfrequency shifts and large-amplitude breathing frequency observed in simulations.