We show that the model of superfluid dark matter developed in Refs.~\cite{Khoury:2014tka,Berezhiani:2015bqa,Berezhiani:2015pia}, which modifies the Newtonian potential and explains the galactic rotational curves, can be unitarized by the formation of classical configurations in the scattering amplitudes. The classicalization mechanism may also trigger the formation of the superfluid state from the early to the late Universe.
In superfluid dark matter (SFDM), the phonon field plays a double role: It carries the superfluid's energy density and it mediates the MOND-like phonon force. We show that these two roles are in tension with each other on galactic scales: A MOND-like phonon force is in tension with a superfluid in equilibrium and with a significant superfluid energy density. To avoid these tensions, we propose a model where the two roles are split between two different fields. This also allows us to solve a stability problem in a more elegant way than standard SFDM. We argue that the standard estimates for the…
We propose a unified framework that reconciles the stunning success of MOND on galactic scales with the triumph of the LambdaCDM model on cosmological scales. This is achieved through the physics of superfluidity. Dark matter consists of self-interacting axion-like particles that thermalize and condense to form a superfluid in galaxies, with ~mK critical temperature. The superfluid phonons mediate a MOND acceleration on baryonic matter. Our framework naturally distinguishes between galaxies (where MOND is successful) and galaxy clusters (where MOND is not): dark matter has a higher temperature…
Max-Planck-Institut für Physik（马克斯·普朗克物理研究所）；Arnold Sommerfeld Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität（路德维希-马克西米利安大学阿诺德·索末菲中心）；Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics（伽利略·伽利莱理论物理研究所）；Aix Marseille Université（艾克斯-马赛大学）；University of Pennsylvania（宾夕法尼亚大学）
We develop a unified model of darkgenesis and baryogenesis involving strongly interacting dark quarks, utilizing the gravitational anomaly of chiral gauge theories. In these models, both the visible and dark baryon asymmetries are generated by the gravitational anomaly induced by the presence of chiral primordial gravitational waves. We provide a concrete model of an SU(2) gauge theory with two massless quarks. In this model, the dark quarks condense and form a dark baryon charge superfluid (DBS), in which the Higgs-mode acts as cold dark matter. We elucidate the essential features of this dar…
It was shown recently that, without jeopardizing the success of the $Λ$ cold dark matter model on cosmic scales, the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) can be derived as an emergent phenomenon when axionlike dark matter particles condense into superfluid on the galactic scales. We propose in this paper a Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) scalar field conformally coupled to the matter components. To maintain the success of MOND phenomenon of dark matter superfluid on the galactic scales, the fifth force introduced by the DBI scalar should be screened on the galactic scales. It turns out that the screenin…
We consider a model of sub-GeV dark matter whose interaction with the Standard Model is mediated by a new vector boson (the dark photon) which couples kinetically to the photon. We describe the possibility of constraining such a model using a superfluid He-4 detector, by means of an effective theory for the description of the superfluid phonon. We find that such a detector could provide bounds that are competitive with other direct detection experiments only for ultralight vector mediator, in agreement with previous studies. As a byproduct we also present, for the first time, the low-energy ef…
In these lectures I describe a theory of dark matter superfluidity developed in the last few years. The dark matter particles are axion-like, with masses of order eV. They Bose-Einstein condense into a superfluid phase in the central regions of galaxy halos. The superfluid phonon excitations in turn couple to baryons and mediate a long-range force (beyond Newtonian gravity). For a suitable choice of the superfluid equation of state, this force reproduces the various galactic scaling relations embodied in Milgrom's law. Thus the dark matter and modified gravity phenomena represent different pha…
Dark matter substructure has the potential to discriminate between broad classes of dark matter models. With this in mind, we construct novel solutions to the equations of motion governing condensate dark matter candidates, namely axion Bose-Einstein condensates and superfluids. These solutions are highly compressed along one axis and thus have a disk-like geometry. We discuss linear stability of these solutions, consider the astrophysical implications as a large-scale dark disk or as small scale substructure, and find a characteristic signal in strong gravitational lensing. This adds to the g…
We develop an effective field theory (EFT) framework for superfluid ${}^4$He to model the interactions among quasiparticles, helium atoms and probe particles. Our effective field theory approach brings together symmetry arguments and power-counting and matches to classical fluid dynamics. We then present the decay and scattering rates for the relevant processes involving quasiparticles and helium atoms. The presented EFT framework and results can be used to understand the dynamics of thermalization in the superfluid, and can be further applied to sub-GeV dark matter direct detection with super…
There has been much interest in novel models of dark matter that exhibit interesting behavior on galactic scales. A primary motivation is the observed Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation in which the mass of galaxies increases as the quartic power of rotation speed. This scaling is not obviously accounted for by standard cold dark matter. This has prompted the development of dark matter models that exhibit some form of so-called MONDian phenomenology to account for this galactic scaling, while also recovering the success of cold dark matter on large scales. A beautiful example of this are the so-ca…
Superfluid dark matter postulates that the centers of galaxies contain superfluid condensates. An important quantity regarding these superfluids is their chemical potential $ μ$. Here, we discuss two issues related to this chemical potential. First, there is no exactly conserved quantity associated with this chemical potential due to the symmetry-breaking baryon-phonon coupling. Second, $ μ$ is sometimes introduced by shifting the phonon field by $ μ\cdot t $ which -- again due to the symmetry-breaking baryon-phonon coupling -- introduces an explicit time dependence in the Lagrangian. We inves…
In this talk we present a novel framework that unifies the stunning success of MOND on galactic scales with the triumph of the LambdaCDM model on cosmological scales. This is achieved through the rich and well-studied physics of superfluidity. The dark matter and MOND components have a common origin, representing different phases of a single underlying substance. In galaxies, dark matter thermalizes and condenses to form a superfluid phase. The superfluid phonons couple to baryonic matter particles and mediate a MOND-like force. Our framework naturally distinguishes between galaxies (where MON…
We propose a novel theory of dark matter (DM) superfluidity that matches the successes of the LambdaCDM model on cosmological scales while simultaneously reproducing the MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) phenomenology on galactic scales. The DM and MOND components have a common origin, representing different phases of a single underlying substance. DM consists of axion-like particles with mass of order eV and strong self-interactions. The condensate has a polytropic equation of state P~rho^3 giving rise to a superfluid core within galaxies. Instead of behaving as individual collisionless part…
We show that the neutrino mass, the dark matter and the dark energy can be explained in a unified framework, postulating a new invisible Born-Infeld field, which we name "non-linear dark photon", undergoing a meV-scale dynamical transmutation and coupled to neutrinos. Dark energy genesis is dynamically explained as a byproduct of the dark photon condensation, inducing the bare massless neutrinos to acquire an effective mass around the meV scale. It is fascinating to contemplate the channel induced by the non-linear dark photon leading to the pairing of the non-relativistic neutrinos, hence gen…
We develop a theory of dark matter based on a previously proposed picture, in which a complex vacuum scalar field makes the universe a superfluid, with the energy density of the superfluid giving rise to dark energy, and variations from vacuum density giving rise to dark matter. We formulate a nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation to describe the superfluid, treating galaxies as external sources. We study the response of the superfluid to the galaxies, in particular, the emergence of the dark-matter galactic halo, contortions during galaxy collisions, and the creation of vortices due to galactic rot…
We present a novel theory of a unified dark sector, where late-time cosmic acceleration emerges from the dark matter superfluid framework. The system is described by a superfluid mixture consisting of two distinguishable states with a small energy gap, such as the ground state and an excited state of dark matter. Given their contact in the superfluid, interaction between those states can happen, converting one state into the other. This long range interaction within the superfluid couples the two superfluid phonon species through a cosine potential motivated by Josephson/Rabi interactions. As …
We show that a two-excitation process in superfluid helium, combined with sensitivity to meV energy depositions, can probe dark matter down to the ~keV warm dark matter mass limit. This mass reach is three orders of magnitude below what can be probed with ordinary nuclear recoils in helium at the same energy resolution. For dark matter lighter than $\sim 100$ keV, the kinematics of the process requires the two athermal excitations to have nearly equal and opposite momentum, potentially providing a built-in coincidence mechanism for controlling backgrounds.
In this paper we study in detail the phase space of a cosmological system consisting of two coupled fluids, namely a dark energy fluid coupled with a superfluid dark matter fluid. The dark matter fluid is assumed to have a superfluid equation of state, hence it is not pressureless and our aim is to find the impact of this non-trivial equation of state on the phase space of the coupled system. We shall use two theoretical contexts, namely that of classical cosmology and that of loop quantum cosmology. In the classical case, we investigated the existence and stability of fixed points, and as we …
The shear viscosity to the entropy density ratio $η/s$ of the anisotropic superfluid has been calculated by means of the gauge/gravity duality in the presence of the {\it dark matter} sector. The {\it dark matter} has been described by the Yang-Mills field analogous to the one describing visible matter sector and it is assumed to interact with the visible field with coupling constant $α$. Close to the superfluid transition temperature ($T_c$) the analytical solution has been given up to the leading order in a symmetry breaking parameter and the ratio of the gravitational constant and Yang-Mils…
We construct dark soliton solutions in a holographic model of a relativistic superfluid. We study the length scales associated with the condensate and the charge density depletion, and find that the two scales differ by a non-trivial function of the chemical potential. By adjusting the chemical potential, we study the variation of the depletion of charge density at the interface.
We derive the finite-temperature equation of state of dark matter superfluids with 2-body and 3-body contact interactions. The latter case is relevant to a recently proposed model of dark matter superfluidity that unifies the collisionless aspects of dark matter with the empirical success of MOdified Newtonian Dynamics at fitting galactic rotation curves. The calculation uses a self-consistent mean-field approximation. It relies on the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation and follows the Yukalov-Yukalova proposal to circumvent the well-known Hohenberg-Martin dilemma. The resulting equation of…
We explore the possibility that fermionic dark matter undergoes a BCS transition to form a superfluid. This requires an attractive interaction between fermions and we describe a possible source of this interaction induced by torsion. We describe the gravitating fermion system with the Bogoliubov-de Gennes formalism in the local density approximation. We solve the Poisson equation along with the equations for the density and gap energy of the fermions to find a self-gravitating, superfluid solution for dark matter halos. In order to produce halos the size of dwarf galaxies, we require a particl…
We begin an investigation of inhomogeneous structures in holographic superfluids. As a first example, we study domain wall like defects in the 3+1 dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Higgs theory, which was developed as a dual model for a holographic superconductor. In [1], we reported on such "dark solitons" in holographic superfluids. In this work, we present an extensive numerical study of their properties, working in the probe limit. We construct dark solitons for two possible condensing operators, and find that both of them share common features with their standard superfluid counterparts. Howev…
In recent work we proposed a novel theory of dark matter (DM) superfluidity that matches the successes of the LambdaCDM model on cosmological scales while simultaneously reproducing MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) phenomenology on galactic scales. The agents responsible for mediating the MONDian force law are superfluid phonons that couple to ordinary (baryonic) matter. In this paper we propose an alternative way for the MOND phenomenon to emerge from DM superfluidity. The central idea is to use higher-gradient corrections in the superfluid effective theory. These next-to-leading order term…
We show that quantum gravity, whatever its ultra-violet completion might be, could account for dark matter. Indeed, besides the massless gravitational field recently observed in the form of gravitational waves, the spectrum of quantum gravity contains two massive fields respectively of spin 2 and spin 0. If these fields are long-lived, they could easily account for dark matter. In that case, dark matter would be very light and only gravitationally coupled to the standard model particles.
Solitons are important nonperturbative excitations in superfluids. For holographic superfluids, we numerically construct dark solitons that have the symmetry-restored phase at their core. A central point is that we include the gravitational back-reaction of the matter fields, which becomes important at low temperatures. We study in detail the properties of these solitons under variation of the back-reaction strength via tuning the gravitational constant. In particular, the depletion fraction of the particle number density at the core of the solitons is carefully investigated. In agreement with…
Considerable attention has been focused on Verlinde's recent work, claiming that Newton's gravity is not a fundamental force. In a recent work (arXiv:1012.5858), we give further the logic basis and basic clues to derive the Newton's gravity, inertia law and Einstein's weak equivalence principle. In this work, we show that if the gravity is not a fundamental force, in special case, it could be repulsive when quantum wavepacket effect is considered. This quantum gravity effect leads to several physical effects: (1) It is consistent with the universe with accelerating expansion, if the gravity an…
In the holographic picture, the Brout-Englert-Higgs (BEH) mechanism in d-dimensional Yang-Mills theories is conjectured to provide a Higgs-like mechanism for gravity in d+1 dimensions, resulting in massive (or massless) gravitons in IR (or UV) completions. Accordingly, one could imagine dual (magnetic-type) fields of massive gravitons in the IR (low-energy) limit that are coupled to the curl of their own energy-momentum, as well as to the rotation of matter fields on large scales. This hypothesis, which might solve cosmological issues currently ascribed to dark matter and dark energy, needs to…
This paper scrutinises the tenability of a strict conceptual distinction between space(time) and matter via the lens of the debate between modified gravity and dark matter. In particular, we consider Berezhiani and Khoury's novel 'superfluid dark matter theory' (SFDM) as a case study. Two families of criteria for being matter and being spacetime, respectively, are extracted from the literature. Evaluation of the new scalar field postulated by SFDM according to these criteria reveals that it is as much (dark) matter as anything could possibly be, but also$-$below the critical temperature for su…
We compute cosmological perturbations for a generic self-gravitating media described by four derivatively- coupled scalar fields. Depending on the internal symmetries of the action for the scalar fields, one can describe perfect fluids, superfluids, solids and supersolids media. Symmetries dictate both dynamical and thermodynamical properties of the media. Generically, scalar perturbations include, besides the gravitational potential, an additional non-adiabatic mode associated with the entropy per particle σ. While perfect fluids and solids are adiabatic with σ constant in time, superfluids a…
Holographic model of a three-dimensional current carrying superconductor or superfluid with {\it dark matter} sector described by the additional $U(1)$-gauge field coupled to the ordinary Maxwell one, has been studied in the probe limit. We investigated analytically by the Sturm-Liouville variational method, the holographic s-wave and p-wave models in the background of the AdS soliton as well as five-dimensional AdS black hole spacetimes. The two models of p-wave superfluids were considered, the so called $SU(2)$ and the Maxwell-vector. Special attention has been paid to the dependence of the …
From the general assumption that gravity originates from the coupling and thermal equilibrium between matter and vacuum, after a derivation of Newton's law of gravitation and an interpretation of the attractive gravity force between two classical objects, we consider the macroscopic quantum gravity effect for particles whose wave packets are delocalized at macroscopic scale. We predict an abnormal repulsive gravity effect in this work. For a sphere full of superfluid helium, it is shown that with a gravimeter placed in this sphere, the sensitivities of the gravity acceleration $Δg/g$ below $10…
This paper pushes back against the Democritean-Newtonian tradition of assuming a strict conceptual dichotomy between spacetime and matter. Our approach proceeds via the more narrow distinction between modified gravity/spacetime (MG) and dark matter (DM). A prequel paper argued that the novel field $Φ$ postulated by Berezhiani and Khoury's 'superfluid dark matter theory' is as much (dark) matter as anything could possibly be, but also$-$below the critical temperature for superfluidity$-$as much (of a modification of) spacetime as anything could possibly be. Here we introduce and critically eval…
Ultra-light dark matter (ULDM) is a class of dark matter models (DM) where DM is composed by bosons with masses ranging from $10^{-24}\, \mathrm{eV} < m < \mathrm{eV}$. These models have been receiving a lot of attention in the past few years given their interesting property of forming a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) or a superfluid on galactic scales. BEC and superfluidity are one of the most striking quantum mechanical phenomena manifest on macroscopic scales, and upon condensation, the particles behave as a single coherent state, described by the wavefunction of the condensate. The idea is…
