Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Recent studies suggest that dark matter could take the form of a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC), a possibility motivated by anomalies in galactic rotation curves and the missing mass problem in galaxy clusters. We investigate the astrophysical properties of BEC dark matter halos and their potential observational signatures distinguishing them from alternative models. In this framework, dark matter behaves as a self-gravitating Newtonian fluid with a polytropic equation of state of index [Formula: see text]. We derive analytic expressions for the mass distribution, gravitational potential, and dynamical profiles such as the density slope and tangential velocity. The lensing behavior of BEC halos is analyzed, yielding a general series representation of the projected surface density that enables precise predictions for deflection angles, lensing potentials, and magnifications. Finally, halo equilibrium and stability are examined via the scalar and tensor virial theorems, leading to perturbation equations that describe their response to small disturbances. Together, these results provide a unified framework linking the microscopic physics of condensate dark matter to macroscopic halo observables.
Source: Modern Physics Letters A
Authors: Francisco S. N. Lobo, Tiberiu Harko
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4417290236