Critical Scalarization for a Self-Gravitating Bosonic Condensate

Abstract

We establish a minimal nonrelativistic realization of scalarization in a self-gravitating bosonic condensate coupled to a scalar response field. A local effective-mass shift and nonlinear saturation generate a multibranch structure with two distinct transition routes. In the linearly stable regime, a finite perturbation drives a first-order transition with type-I logarithmic scaling near threshold. Beyond the linear onset, small perturbations grow tachyonically, and the response time controls both the growth and the subsequent breathing dynamics. These results identify a common mechanism for scalarization across relativistic compact objects and nonrelativistic condensates, and point toward laboratory analogues in coherent media.