English

Non-Equilibrium Relativistic Core Collapse of Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos -- Limits On Seed Black Hole Mass

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics 2026-04-28 v2 High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

Recent observations of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at high redshifts pose challenges to standard seeding mechanisms. Among competing models, the collapse of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) halos provide a plausible explanation for early SMBH formation. While previous studies on modeling the gravothermal collapse of SIDM halos have primarily focused on non-relativistic evolution under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium, We advance this framework by relaxing the equilibrium assumption and additionally incorporating general-relativistic effects. To this end, we introduce the Misner-Sharp formalism to the SIDM context for the first time. Our model reproduces the standard hydrostatic models in the early long-mean-free-path (LMFP) regime, but displays interesting distinct behavior in the late short-mean-free-path (SMFP) regime, where intense outward heat flux drives a rapid expansion of the outer envelope, removing mass from the core and significantly decelerating the collapse. Our general relativistic treatment enables us to follow halo evolution to the final stage when the apparent horizon forms. Our simulation yields a seed black hole mass of approximately 3×1083\times10^{-8} of the halo mass at horizon formation, suggesting that additional mechanisms such as baryonic effects are critical for seeding black holes that are sufficiently massive to account for SMBHs in the early Universe.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.17117,
  title  = {Non-Equilibrium Relativistic Core Collapse of Self-Interacting Dark Matter Halos -- Limits On Seed Black Hole Mass},
  author = {Hua-Peng Gu and Fangzhou Jiang and Xian Chen and Ran Li},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.17117},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

14 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review D