Wave Dark Matter and Ultra Diffuse Galaxies
Abstract
Dark matter as a Bose-Einstein condensate, such as the axionic scalar field particles of String Theory, can explain the coldness of dark matter on large scales. Pioneering simulations in this context predict a rich wave-like structure, with a ground state soliton core in every galaxy surrounded by a halo of excited states that interfere on the de Broglie scale. This de Broglie scale is largest for low mass galaxies as momentum is lower, providing a simple explanation for the wide cores of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Here we extend these "wave dark matter" () predictions to the newly discovered class of "Ultra Diffuse Galaxies" (UDG) that resemble dwarf spheroidal galaxies but with more extended stellar profiles. Currently the best studied example, DF44, has a uniform velocity dispersion of 33km/s, extending to at least 3 kpc, that we show is reproduced by our simulations with a soliton radius of 0.5 kpc. In the context, we show the relatively flat dispersion profile of DF44 lies between massive galaxies with compact dense solitons, as may be present in the Milky Way on a scale of 100pc and lower mass galaxies where the velocity dispersion declines centrally within a wide, low density soliton, like Antlia II, of radius 3 kpc.